'Play It In The Times Square': Wasim Jaffer Feels Only Rishabh Pant's Reverse Lap Shot Against Ireland In T20 WC 2024 Match Can Get Americans Into Cricket

Former Indian opening batter Wasim Jaffer believes that the winning shot by Rishabh Pant to seal the match against Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024 clash on Wednesday must be played in the Times Square. Jaffer reckons the shot is the only shot likely to interest the Americans in cricket.

The winning shot by the keeper-batter came in the 13th over of the innings off Barry McCarthy's bowling as the Men in Blue required only 6 runs to win. Pant helped the harmless ball from the right-arm seamer straight over the keeper's head as it carried over the fence comfortably. Pant eventually finished unbeaten on 36 and India won with 46 deliveries to spare.

Meanwhile, Jaffer, who took a dig at the New York pitch, wrote:

"Take a clip of that reverse lap winning six by @RishabhPant17 and play it in the Times Square. If that doesn't get Americans into cricket, nothing will."

Irfan Pathan slams New York's surface and raises safety concern for players:

Ex-Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that the pitch in New York is far from safe to play on, claiming that such surfaces in India would trigger widespread backlash from the cricketing fraternity. He told Star Sports:

"Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America, but this pitch is not safe for players. If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again for a very long time. This pitch is definitely not good. I mean, we are talking about the World Cup here, not even a bilateral series."

The Men in Blue's next match is against Pakistan, which will take place on June 9th at the same venue.

Published on: Thursday, June 06, 2024, 12:01 PM IST