'Still confident that this group can lift the World Cup' - Matthew Hayden boosts Pakistan's spirits after T20 World Cup final defeat

Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden boosted the morale of the players in the dressing room after the Men in Green’s five-wicket defeat to England in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the MCG on Sunday, November 13.

Hayden charged up the players by saying that they are performing consistently in big tournaments and he backed the Babar Azam-led side to be one of the favourites to lift the trophy in the next year’s ICC ODI World Cup in India.

I am still confident that this group of young men can lift the World Cup: Matthew Hayden

"Take it back a month ago when you all shared a meal at my house, I said that I was confident that you are going to lift the World Cup. Now that has not changed, nothing's changed, I am still confident that this group of young men can lift the World Cup”, said Hayden while speaking in a video posted by the PCB on their official social media handles.

"And I am confident that we also have some clarity on how to move forward from this tournament. How to celebrate some great performances and how to acknowledge some of the weaknesses that we have had in the last month”, he added.

"Come the World Cup in India, again we will be celebrating getting somewhere near the World Cup. It is amazing how far we have come in the tournament," the former Australian opener added.

Watch the video here:

Matthew Hayden is proud of the team's effort and performance in the tournament.#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/X3cbfEqtPL

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 13, 2022

Hayden was also Pakistan’s team mentor in the last edition of the T20 World Cup that was played in the UAE. The Men in Green remained undefeated throughout the Super 12 before going down to the eventual champions Australia in the semifinal.

Coming back to the grand finale, the Pakistani bowlers staged a remarkable fightback despite having only 137 to defend. Shaheen Afridi castled Alex Hales and Jos Buttler followed just when he started accelerating.

To Pakistan’s misfortune, Shaheen hurt his knee while taking Harry Brook’s catch and even though he bowled a wide yorker in the 16^th over, he could no longer bowl properly due to pain and had to leave the field for further treatment.

That was the match's turning point as Ben Stokes capitalized on it brilliantly and dealt in boundaries, scoring an outstanding half-century to take England past the finish line with an over to spare. Stokes remained unbeaten on 52 runs off 49 deliveries.