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| March 29, 2007 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 9, 1428 |
Furious fans taunt returning Pakistan players
KARACHI, March 28: Angry fans told Pakistani cricketers to “go to hell” as they returned home Wednesday, still reeling from the murder of coach Bob Woolmer and their humiliating World Cup exit.
Dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi, spinner Danish Kaneria, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and paceman Mohammad Sami were heckled by a crowd of around 100 people after they touched down at Karachi international airport.“Why have you come back?” one fan shouted as the players were protected by dozens of uniformed police, while another supporter bellowed “Go to hell” at Afridi, an AFP reporter said.
When Kaneria tried to leave the arrivals lounge the crowd shouted “Shame on you” and he went back inside, before asking for police protection to help him leave, witnesses said.
Speaking briefly to the media before being driven away, Afridi said that all the Pakistani players were feeling “disturbed” after the events of the past two weeks.
Pakistan were dumped out of the World Cup by minnows Ireland on March 18. A day later Woolmer's strangled body was found in his room on the 12th floor of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.
Asked about the inquiry into the murder of Woolmer, Afridi said: “The police did ask us a few questions but these were normal inquiries. We have been asked by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) not to speak much on the issue Just pray for us.”
Akmal, who was going to take a connecting flight to Lahore, refused to talk specifically about Woolmer's murder but paid tribute to him.
“I don't want to say much on this issue but we all loved Bob. He was a nice coach and a nice person. He was like a father to all of us,” he said.
Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and around a dozen squad members arrived in the eastern city of Lahore later Wednesday but were driven out of the airport's cargo section to avoid waiting reporters and fans.
“We didn't want to hurt them, we just wanted to vent our frustration,” said one fan after finding out that the players had eluded them.—AFP
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