Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has talked about how there should be more India-Pakistan games, outside the major ICC tournaments between these two sides, which would help the players to not carry the extra pressure on their shoulders and they could come up with their skillset more freely.
There was a time when both these neighboring countries used to come up against each other quite often, but as time went on, the political relationship between them got affected, and that made it tough for them to keep on playing the bilateral series.
The last time India toured Pakistan was back in 2008, whereas the latter made a trip to India in 2012 for a white-ball series. There was so much tension on whether the Green Brigade would come to this country for the 2016 T20 World Cup. They did and continued the same process even for last year’s Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
‘In my view, India and Pakistan should face each other more’- Younis Khan
The T20 World Cup winner of the Pakistan side, Younis Khan feels that it’s the media that always creates the hype around an India-Pakistan game, and because they used to play each other almost regularly in those past days, the pressure wasn’t that much on the players during the ICC major events.
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Younis Khan stated that they take every opponent equally and that’s what makes it quite easy for the players to remain involved in the contest.
‘We are playing one match at a time and on an equal basis. As a captain, I don’t have in mind that who should be the opponent.’ The veteran Pakistan batter expressed this during a recent interview. ‘The media have created some hype.’
The former players of these few countries are playing the ‘World Championship of Legends’ league last week at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham. The retired right-handed batter looked back at that game when they faced India legends and how the whole ground was packed for the afternoon.
‘When I came to the ground this afternoon, I looked at the ground, and it felt like I am playing an international game of my old time. That much crowd was there.’ Younis Khan added. ‘So that’s a good thing, when India and Pakistan are facing each other. See, another good thing is that these games should take place on a regular basis.’
The 46-year-old feels that the lack of bilateral games between these two countries is putting more pressure on the players and because the Pakistan team has a young group of players, they are feeling the pressure more.
‘We always think that when we used to play cricket, we were playing India almost regularly, so the pressure on us wasn’t that much.’ The middle-order batter Younis Khan elaborated. ‘But now, I see they play only in World Cups, or in those other major ICC events, and that’s why we have pressure given Pakistan have a young team at the moment.’
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The last time both these teams met each other during the T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, the 2009 champions failed to chase down a low total of 120 runs, and later were knocked out from the group stage of the event.
‘In my view, they should play more, so that the pressure won’t be that much. The Players should be able to play more with their skills and showcase their character to us.’ The Mardan-born Younis Khan concluded.
It will be interesting to see if India makes a trip to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2024.