An India vs Pakistan match is one of the most awaited encounters in the field of cricket. However, the fans easily don't get a chance to witness the tussle between the two sides in a cricket field as the two teams haven't played any bilateral series since January 2013. In such a case, they are only the multi-team events that give the fans a chance to cheer for their respective teams in the high-value match. The limited number of head-to-head matches in the last decade has further increased the importance of the face-off between the two sides.
Amidst all that the pressure on players of both the sides is also at its peak when they face their opponents and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is not shy in admitting it.
During an interaction with media, Babar was questioned by a journalist if there was any pressure on the Pakistan team given as it is likely to face India in three matches in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and the Pakistan skipper replied in affirmative.
"Look, what we try is to play it like a normal match only. Yes, obviously the pressure is different. But like we did in (T20) World Cup 2021 that is to focus on our game and believe in the team and ourselves. This time too we are going to give our best. Effort is in our hands but result is not," Babar said in a video shared by Pakistan Cricket.
It is worth noting that India and Pakistan are set to face each other on August 28 in Dubai. Meanwhile, given the Super-4 stage will also see all the teams playing each other in a round-robin format, India are likely to face Pakistan for the second time in the tournament as both the teams are likely to make the cut. If both the teams qualify for the final, then it will be the third time in the event that both India and Pakistan will be meeting each other.
Squads For Asia Cup 2022:
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Usman Qadir.