New Delhi: After Zimbabwe’s thrilling 1-run win against Pakistan in a T20 World Cup 2022 match on Thursday, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa congratulated the team and dived into the “Mr. Bean” row by taking a jibe at Pakistan.
Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa, posted on Twitter, “What a win for Zimbabwe! Congratulations to the Chevrons. Next time, send the real Mr Bean.” The tweet of Zimbabwe’s president was widely shared on social media.
Asif Muhammad, a Pakistan comedian who can pose as an epic comedy character, ‘Mr. Bean’, has been in the news before the match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
It all started when a cricket fan took to social media and said Zimbabwe would seek revenge for an episode from 2016 where locals in Harare paid the Pakistani ‘Mr. Bean’ (Asif) to come and perform in a show in the country. In viral photos, Asif can be seen waving at people on the streets of Harare while being surrounded by security officials.
Now, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff took to social media to respond to Mnangagwa’s tweet, saying their country might not have the real Mr. Bean but are good at showcasing cricketing spirit.
“We may not have the real Mr Bean, but we have real cricketing spirit .. and we Pakistanis have a funny habit of bouncing back. Mr President: Congratulations. Your team played really well today,” Shehbaz Shariff said in a tweet.
Following Pakistan’s humiliating defeat against Zimbabwe in the ICC T20 World Cup, former cricketers from their country slammed the team-management, PCB chairman for poor performance and also questioned the selectors for choice of players for the mega event in Australia.
A spirited Zimbabwe team held its nerves to beat Pakistan by one run in a thrilling ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match that went down to the very last delivery at Perth Stadium on Thursday.
This was Pakistan’s second defeat in two games and their road to the semifinal has become difficult now. They had earlier lost to arch-rivals India in their campaign opener on Sunday.
–IANS