As the season of the ICC World Cup 2023 nears and the 10 teams prepare to go head to head, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has made a rather interesting claim on the reason behind the Indian cricket team avoiding matches with Pakistan from 1997-98.
What has Abdul Razzaq claimed?
The former Pakistan cricketer has claimed that the Indian national team did not play much against Pakistan in 1997-98 as they were “too good” and India “always used to lose”. He told EHCricket that both the nations share a mutual respect and friendship. “Now, [the] situation has changed, we are in 2023, but we have to change our thinking. No team is big or small, the performance on the day matters,” he added.
Talking about how performances matter now rather than a team’s name, Razzaq said that both India and Pakistani teams are good and no one can say that the “Pakistan team is weak”. “You see the Ashes series, can you point out which team is better? The team which performs wins, as simple as that. We have to get out of this and play matches, series against each other,” he continued.
Pakistan’s last visit to India was during the 2016 T20 World Cup.
India and Pakistan’s upcoming matches
The Indian and Pakistani teams will first clash at the Asia Cup 2023, before their showdown at the ICC World Cup 2023. Both the neighbours will face each other at the ODI World Cup, which will be held in India, first on October 15 in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Pakistan’s minister Ehsaan Mazari statement
The minister in-charge of sports in Pakistan Ehsaan Mazari told the Indian Express earlier that if India avoids travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, Pakistan will withdraw from World Cup in India. “If India demands to play their Asia Cup games at a neutral venue, we would also demand the same for our World Cup games in India,” he said.