The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has made a strong statement ahead of the clash between India and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup. Both the Asian giants will meet in the showpiece tournament on October 23 at the iconic MCG to resume their rivalry.
According to Ramiz Raja, the Indian team has started to give the Pakistani side more respect, especially after Babar Azam’s side defeated the Men In Blue at the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai by 10 wickets.
Raja lauded Babar Azam and his players for getting the better of the “billion-dollar” Team India. Both the arch-rivals also met at the Asia Cup 2022 where both faced each other twice with one victory each, but Pakistan managed to reach the final while India suffered a Super 4 group stage exit.
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Speaking about the World Cup encounters between India and Pakistan, Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan batter, asserted that these matches are more competition of the players’ temperament.
“Skill aur talent se zyada mental match hota hain yeh. So, agar aap temperamentally strong hai and mentally focussed hai aur haar manne ko taiyar nahi hain toh chhoti team bhi badi team ko hara sakti hain. And Pakistan hamesha se underdogs rahi hain jab bhi India se muqabla hua hain, but of late, unhone hume respect dena shuru kardiya hain kyunki unke khayal me yeh tha ki Pakistan hume kabhi hara hi nahi sakta,” Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying by Dawn.
The PCB boss stated that Babar Azam and his team deserve more praise and credit from the fans.
“So yahi main kehta hu ki Pakistan ko credit dijiye kyunki ek billion-dollar team cricket industry ko hum harate hai. Main toh khud World Cups khela hu, humlog toh India ko nahi hara paate thai. Iss team ko credit dena chaiye kyunki limited resources, compared to India, se prepare karte hai and tagda muqabla karte hain.”
