ISLAMABAD – The Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced Rs one million for each Pakistan team player on good performance in the recently-concluded World Cup, during a reception hosted in honour of Pakistan cricket team here at PM House on Monday.
The PM lauded team’s performance in the World Cup, he expressed these views while talking to media after the reception. “The defeat against India in semi-final was not about somebody winning or losing the game, rather it was the game of cricket which at the end came out as eventual winner,” he replied on a query about defeat in semi-final.
He said this was because of the cricket match which opened the doors for talks between India and Pakistan. The ice has certainly been melted and the Indian Prime Minister was also agreed to restore the cricketing ties between the two arch-rivals in future and the work has already been started in this regard, he added.
When asked about who were the favourite players, he smilingly said that all of the team members were his favourite. “I can’t talk of an individual as all the players had done their best collectively to take their team into the semi-final,” the PM said, adding that nobody was ready to give an outside chance to Pakistan team about reaching quarterfinal, but with their superb efforts, the prayers of the entire nation, Pakistan reached the semi-finals. Had luck favoured the team and the boys held catches, the team could have easily beaten the Indians, he remarked.
The PM lauded team’s performance in the World Cup, he expressed these views while talking to media after the reception. “The defeat against India in semi-final was not about somebody winning or losing the game, rather it was the game of cricket which at the end came out as eventual winner,” he replied on a query about defeat in semi-final.
He said this was because of the cricket match which opened the doors for talks between India and Pakistan. The ice has certainly been melted and the Indian Prime Minister was also agreed to restore the cricketing ties between the two arch-rivals in future and the work has already been started in this regard, he added.
When asked about who were the favourite players, he smilingly said that all of the team members were his favourite. “I can’t talk of an individual as all the players had done their best collectively to take their team into the semi-final,” the PM said, adding that nobody was ready to give an outside chance to Pakistan team about reaching quarterfinal, but with their superb efforts, the prayers of the entire nation, Pakistan reached the semi-finals. Had luck favoured the team and the boys held catches, the team could have easily beaten the Indians, he remarked.
