Babar Azam on India-Pakistan high-level matches

With the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 begun, all eyes are on the much-awaited match between archrivals India and Pakistan, which is set to take place in New York on June 9.

Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, has urged calmness and a targeted approach amid all the hype and discussions surrounding this historic match. He said the squad shouldn’t let the overly enthusiastic hype get to them.

In sports, the rivalry between India and Pakistan is among the fiercest and most well-followed. In ICC competitions, the Men in Blue have dominated head-to-head matches; in T20 World Cups, in particular, they have won seven of the eight matches. Under Azam’s captaincy, the Men in Green only managed a victory in the 2021 tournament.

Anywhere in the world, India-Pakistan matches are the most talked about; they are debated excessively. Different emotions and exhilarations are felt by the players. “Everyone will be rooting for their country, so that match will take centre stage,” he stated on the PCB podcast.

The day of the India-Pakistan match is the focus of attention throughout the globe. Babar Azam

Regarding the forthcoming match against India, he feels that his team must remain calm under pressure, concentrate on the game, and adhere to fundamental principles.

“Everyone on the planet is watching the day of the India-Pakistan game. Nerves are inevitable, but we just need to remain focused, adhere to the fundamentals, and play simple cricket. It is always a game of pressure; the more you maintain your composure and believe in your abilities and diligence, the easier things are,” Azam remarked.

The batter emphasised the need to maintain composure under pressure as she thought back on the team’s sad losses to Zimbabwe and India in the 2022 tournament, where they fell from winning positions.

“In my opinion, they stole the India game in 2022 when we could have and should have won. The one that hurt the most was the loss to Zimbabwe. The fact that we had played well against India and that people were complimenting our comeback and performance makes it hurt even more,” he continued.

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Despite the losses, South Africa’s shocking defeat to the Netherlands helped Azam and Co. go to the 2022 edition’s finals. Nonetheless, Babar claims that England emerged victorious in the summit match, with Shaheen Afridi’s injury playing a crucial part.

Because England was under pressure at the end of the match, Shaheen’s injury had an influence. We had to give an over to a spinner, and that changed things,” he continued.

Azam’s motivation goes beyond personal accomplishments as his team gets ready to begin their T20 World Cup campaign against co-hosts the USA on June 6.

I’ve had some success as a batter and have won a few series in my role as captain. Lifting the ICC trophy, however, has a distinct incentive. You raise your game and receive a tonne of compliments. Thus, the desire, goal, and inspiration to raise an ICC trophy and give it to Pakistan still endure’, he said.