'Let bygones be bygones, meet and greet the players', says Asif Iqbal

Mumbai: Whereas Virat Kohli's boys are returning home empty-handed, former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal has suggested the fans to greet them at the airport.

Speaking exclusively over telephone from England, he said, "it is very unfortunate and that the subcontinent culture of abusing and insulting the heroes on losing is unnecessary. These very players have in the past brought glory and most of them will still be around to bring many more trophies in the future. Electronic media also needs to be more mature in their coverage".

"No team, including India has the divine right to win every time they play cricket tournaments. It's a sport and only winning should not be the criteria for participation".   

"Team India deserved to be at Lord's as they played outstanding cricket throughout the tournament. Ravi Shastri, Kohli and Team India should be proud of their performance. They played outstanding cricket throughout the World Cup", he added further.  

"Pakistan could have been in the semi finals had they planned better in managing their run rate. Losing to the West Indies badly in the opening match didn't help either. Only consolation for them is that they beat both the finalists in the qualifying round".