Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a big cash reward for the country’s Under-19 cricket team after their Asia Cup win on Sunday. On Monday, he hosted a special reception for the players and officials in Islamabad. During the event, he announced a cash award of 10 million Pakistani rupees for each player.
Pakistan beat India by a huge margin of 191 runs in the final on Sunday to lift the Under-19 Asia Cup title. The team’s performance was praised by everyone present at the ceremony.Team mentor and manager Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed the announcement while speaking to the media. He said the Prime Minister had rewarded every player with 10 million rupees, which is around 36,000 US dollars. Sarfaraz also said he enjoyed working with such talented young players and believed they had a bright future in cricket.Head coach Shahid Anwar said the victory was the result of careful planning and long-term preparation. He explained how the team was selected after months of trials and matches. “The process started in June when we picked around 70 players after trials and then reduced the number to 20. Most of these players were then given chances to play 50-over cricket at domestic level,” Anwar said.In the final, Pakistan posted a massive total of 347 runs for eight wickets. Sameer Minhas played a stunning knock of 172 runs and was the star of the match. Pakistan’s fast bowlers then dominated India and bowled them out for just 156 runs.India captain Ayush Mhatre admitted his team made mistakes on the big day. “We were clear to bowl first, there were some inconsistencies in the line of the bowling. It was a simple plan to play the 50 overs. The boys really played well and tournament was good for us and some players stood up,” he said.Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf praised the team effort. “We very happy with the collective performance. We had lost the first match against India, but our management had a good talk with us and we could provide the win in the final,” he added.Minhas was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series. Speaking after the win, he said, “It was a good innings, I had in mind to score a big score, I want to play my natural game, we wanted to bat first looking at the track. It is very memorable for me.”
