Babar Azam: I know there is tremendous excitement in both countries but for us, it is just another game
Both Pakistan and India are without their star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi while Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has now said that he was touched with the way Team India came up to Shaheen to check up on his injury.
Pakistan and India will play their group stage clash on August 28 in Dubai. The fans are eagerly waiting for the clash while all eyes will be on Babar Azam’s and Virat Kohli’s forms.
Ahead of the high-octane clash, players from both camps have been exchanging pleasantries during the practice session. Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant met Shaheen Afridi to ask about his injury.
Both Pakistan and India are without their star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has now said that he was touched with the way Team India came up to Shaheen to check up on his injury.
“I was touched by the way they met Shaheen Shah Afridi during Thursday’s training session and expressed their support to him. The visuals of the players interacting with each other were also heartwarming and reflected the respect and friendship they enjoy. But on the match day, everything will be kept aside and players from either side will come hard at each other to overpower the other,”
said Babar in an official release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“I know there is tremendous excitement in both countries but for us, it is just another game. Our preparations have been excellent and we will take the field oozing with confidence. Our victory over India 11 months ago at the same venue is a good reference point, but that’s all. While we will continue to reflect on it positively, Sunday and any other matches down the line will be new fixtures that will be played in new conditions,”
said Babar.
“I have always believed you don’t need any additional motivation to play and perform for Pakistan. Representing your country at a global stage itself is a huge honor and pride, and the objective is always to make the country proud,”
he added.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali.