Pakistan team arrives to hostile reception

A group of players including manager Intikhab Alam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shehzad and others had to face chants of "shame shame" when they landed at the Allama Iqbal international airport in Lahore.

Pakistan lost to India, New Zealand and Australia and beat only Bangladesh.

The Pakistan cricket team, sans captain Shahid Afridi, returned to a hostile reception in Lahore and Karachi after its disastrous World Twenty20 campaign which also included a loss to arch-foes India.

The team returned home in batches in Lahore and Karachi last night. Afridi, on the other hand, has decided to stay back in Dubai for a few days. The flamboyant all-rounder is expected to take a call on his future in the next few days after drawing massive criticism for his poor form in the tournament and the comment that he and his team get more love in India than Pakistan.

A group of players including manager Intikhab Alam, Mphammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shehzad and others had to face chants of “shame shame” when they landed at the Allama Iqbal international airport in Lahore.

Security tightened

Taking a cue from the hostile reception the players faced in Lahore the security was then beefed up for those who reached the Quaid-e-Azam international airport in Karachi a few hours later. A heavy cordon of security personnel quickly took Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sharjeel Khan, Anwar Khan and others from the terminal building to their waiting cars.

But even then some people at the airport gave the players a piece of their mind.

The hostile reception was expected after Pakistan’s dismal show in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and in the World T20 where it lost to India, New Zealand and Australia.