'Presume Dil Dil Pakistan Wasn't Played...': Michael Vaughan Takes Cheeky Dig At Mickey Arthur

The Pakistan cricket team suffered their third consecutive World Cup 2023 loss after they were beaten by Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday. Following the defeat, former England skipper Michael Vaughan took a dig at Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur. Sharing a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Vaughan wrote, “I presume ‘Dil Dil’ Pakistan wasn’t played in Chennai today.”

Vaughan’s remark comes just weeks after Arthur had expressed his displeasure over the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not playing the ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ song during the Babar Azam-led side’s World Cup loss to India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14.

“Look, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight,” Arthur had said following Pakistan’s seven-wicket defeat against arch-rivals India at the World Cup.

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Mickey Arthur was understood to have been referring to Pakistan fans who were not being granted visas for the World Cup. The South African’s comments, however, did not go down well with many experts and former cricketers who slammed Arthur for raising such points.

With just two wins from five games, Pakistan are currently placed in fifth position in the World Cup 2023 standings. Pakistan have so far collected four points in the tournament.

In their last match, Pakistan were defeated by Afghanistan by a whopping margin of eight wickets. Chasing a target of 283, the Afghans scored the winning runs with one over to spare. Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran emerged as his side’s highest scorer with 87. Zadran was adjudged Player of the Match for his fabulous knock.

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“I am feeling very glad for myself and for my country. I want to dedicate this man of the match award to those who are sent back to Afghanistan from Pakistan. I wanted to go out there with a positive mind and positive intent, and I did it. We (Gurbaz and himself) have played a lot of cricket with each other, we have good communication while running between the wickets as we have been playing together since under-16 days,” Zadran said at the post-match presentation.

In their next World Cup 2023 fixture, Pakistan will be up against South Africa in Chennai on Friday.