New York: The hype, expectations and pressure surrounding the India-Pakistan matches definitely bothers the players, says Babar Azam, who urged his team to remain calm and stick to the basics during the much-awaited T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. Advised.
India have lost to Pakistan only once in seven matches in the T20 World Cup and their only defeat came in 2021 when the Virat Kohli-led side lost by 10 wickets in the Super 12 stage.
Babar said in the PCB Podcast, "We know that the Pakistan-India match creates more buzz than any other match. There is a completely different atmosphere around this match and not only among the players but among the fans. There is also a lot of excitement." ,
“Wherever you go in the world, you will find people talking about the India-Pakistan match and everyone supporting their country.Every fan eagerly waits for this match and focuses on this special match.
"Obviously, the expectations and hype surrounding this match causes some nervousness. It all depends on how you handle it and the more you focus on the fundamentals, the better for you as a player. It would be that easy.
"It's a very high-pressure game and if you keep a cool head, stay calm and believe in your hard work and skills, things will become easier," Babar said.
The Pakistan captain regrets missing opportunities in the 2022 edition."For me, in 2022, we could have won the match against India and we should have won, but they took it away. The saddest thing was the loss against Zimbabwe. It is more hurtful because we played good cricket against India and People were praising our performance and fightback,” he recalled of their one-run defeat in a last-ball thriller.
He stressed the importance of playing top cricket against every team while acknowledging that results are uncertain, focusing on effort and a positive mindset.
“I am happy and excited because when you go to play in a major event, there is a different excitement inside you.The aim of any cricketer is to play in the World Cup, so that kind of feeling is coming in my mind. The hope is always there to lift the trophy, but to do that we have to play top cricket against every team.
"The effort is in our hands, but the result, we don't know. How we present ourselves on the ground, our body language and how we communicate with each other will matter. We must remain positive, so the result Will.,
Pakistan, the 2009 champions, has been the most consistent team in the T20 global showpiece, making six semi-finals in eight editions.
They were runners-up in 2007 and lost to England in the final of the last edition in 2022.
"In the final, Shaheen's injury was impactful because the pressure was on them (England) at that time. We were forced to give a spinner an over and that made a difference."
“We have had good performances in the last two ICC Men's T20 World Cups.Unfortunately, we could not perform well. We were also runners-up in the ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022. So, that's what is in our mind, we are thinking about how we have played two finals and one semi-final and how we can recover from the mistakes that derailed our campaign, Babar said.
Babar said that winning the ICC trophy is an ultimate dream.
“As a batsman, I have achieved well and as a captain, I have won a few series.But lifting the ICC trophy is a different motivation. You go to a different level and get a lot of praise. So, the motivation, aspiration and dream remains to lift the ICC trophy and hand it over to Pakistan,'' he said.
India have lost to Pakistan only once in seven matches in the T20 World Cup and their only defeat came in 2021 when the Virat Kohli-led side lost by 10 wickets in the Super 12 stage.
Babar said in the PCB Podcast, "We know that the Pakistan-India match creates more buzz than any other match. There is a completely different atmosphere around this match and not only among the players but among the fans. There is also a lot of excitement." ,
“Wherever you go in the world, you will find people talking about the India-Pakistan match and everyone supporting their country.Every fan eagerly waits for this match and focuses on this special match.
"Obviously, the expectations and hype surrounding this match causes some nervousness. It all depends on how you handle it and the more you focus on the fundamentals, the better for you as a player. It would be that easy.
"It's a very high-pressure game and if you keep a cool head, stay calm and believe in your hard work and skills, things will become easier," Babar said.
The Pakistan captain regrets missing opportunities in the 2022 edition."For me, in 2022, we could have won the match against India and we should have won, but they took it away. The saddest thing was the loss against Zimbabwe. It is more hurtful because we played good cricket against India and People were praising our performance and fightback,” he recalled of their one-run defeat in a last-ball thriller.
He stressed the importance of playing top cricket against every team while acknowledging that results are uncertain, focusing on effort and a positive mindset.
“I am happy and excited because when you go to play in a major event, there is a different excitement inside you.The aim of any cricketer is to play in the World Cup, so that kind of feeling is coming in my mind. The hope is always there to lift the trophy, but to do that we have to play top cricket against every team.
"The effort is in our hands, but the result, we don't know. How we present ourselves on the ground, our body language and how we communicate with each other will matter. We must remain positive, so the result Will.,
Pakistan, the 2009 champions, has been the most consistent team in the T20 global showpiece, making six semi-finals in eight editions.
They were runners-up in 2007 and lost to England in the final of the last edition in 2022.
"In the final, Shaheen's injury was impactful because the pressure was on them (England) at that time. We were forced to give a spinner an over and that made a difference."
“We have had good performances in the last two ICC Men's T20 World Cups.Unfortunately, we could not perform well. We were also runners-up in the ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022. So, that's what is in our mind, we are thinking about how we have played two finals and one semi-final and how we can recover from the mistakes that derailed our campaign, Babar said.
Babar said that winning the ICC trophy is an ultimate dream.
“As a batsman, I have achieved well and as a captain, I have won a few series.But lifting the ICC trophy is a different motivation. You go to a different level and get a lot of praise. So, the motivation, aspiration and dream remains to lift the ICC trophy and hand it over to Pakistan,'' he said.
