Karachi: As the Men in Green prepare to compete in the Asia Cup against their fierce rivals, Pakistan's captain Babar Azam stated on Thursday that all Pakistan-India matches put pressure on the players. "We usually try to treat it like a regular game, but obviously, there is different pressure on us," Babar told a press conference before the Pakistan team's departure to the Netherlands.

Pakistan will clash with the Netherlands in a three-match ODI series, with the opening ODI taking place in Rotterdam on 16th August and after that, they will immediately depart for the ACC T20 Asia Cup.* "There is pressure, but we tried [to keep ourselves calm in the T20 World Cup and] not [repeat the same thing] of coming under pressure," the Pakistani captain said. Babar said that players should believe their team as he noted that the squad always gives its fullest on the ground, however, the results were not in their hands.

Babar was referring to the win over the Men In Blue in the T20 World Cup, where he led by example as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup showdown for the first time with a 10-wicket romp in a Super 12 blockbuster in October 2021. Babar and opening partner Mohammad Rizwan then returned to overwhelm the target with 13 balls to spare and register Pakistan's maiden win against India in a World Cup in their 13th attempt.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 12 2022

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