Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has made a surprising claim, stating that India stopped playing against Pakistan after 1998 because they always used to lose. Despite the alleged reasons, Razzaq believes that cricket ties between the two countries should be resumed.
India and Pakistan are scheduled to face each other in the Asia Cup 2023 in September and the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in October. The highly-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan in the World Cup is set to take place on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Additionally, the two teams may encounter each other multiple times during these tournaments.
During a conversation with EHCricket, Abdul Razzaq alleged that India avoided matches against Pakistan after 1997-98 due to consistent losses.
“We share mutual respect and friendship. The only team that doesn’t play against Pakistan is India. From 1997-98, they didn’t play much against us because we were too good, and India always used to lose,” Razzaq said.
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Abdul Razzaq, who represented Pakistan from 1999 to 2013, expressed his belief that both teams should resume bilateral matches. He emphasized that the performance on a given day determines the outcome, and no team should be considered weak.
“Now, we are in 2023, and we need to change our thinking. No team is big or small; the performance on the day matters. Both teams are good, and you can’t say Pakistan is weak. Just look at the Ashes series; can you point out which team is better? The team that performs wins, it’s as simple as that. We need to move past this and play matches and series against each other,” Razzaq stated.
Currently, India and Pakistan do not engage in bilateral cricket due to political differences. However, they face each other in ICC tournaments. The most recent encounter between the two teams took place during the T20 World Cup last year, where Virat Kohli led India to a thrilling victory in a chase.
However, Pakistan has also shown dominance over India in the Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2021. Consequently, whenever these two teams meet, it promises to be a captivating contest. Fans from both nations are eagerly anticipating the Asia Cup 2023, where India and Pakistan will once again square off.