Pace bowling great Wasim Akram has urged Pakistan and India’s cricketers to ignore the noise and enjoy the game when they meet in a highly charged Asia Cup T20 match on Sunday.
The Group A match in Dubai is the first clash on the cricket field between the countries since a military conflict four months ago took relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours to their lowest point in decades. India resisted calls to boycott the match between the pair, who have not played in any bilateral series since deadly attacks in Mumbai 2008 were blamed on Pakistan militants.
“Enjoy, it’s a game of cricket,” legendary left-armer Akram told AFP of the match, which potentially could be the first of three high-octane meetings between the countries in the T20 tournament.
“Forget about everything other than cricket. One team will win, and one team will lose,” he said. “Just enjoy the moment if you win the game. Pressure will come, enjoy that and show discipline because this is just a game. It’s for both teams and for both sets of fans.”
A full house of 25,000 is expected at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Akram recalled how he thrived in such pressure situations during his 19-year international career.
“I enjoyed every game against India, and so did players from the opposition,” said Akram, who led a Pakistan touring team to India in 1999 despite threats from extremists. The 59-year-old was also part of Pakistan’s 1987 tour during which the two countries came close to war. Akram advised an inexperienced Pakistan team to think of the bigger picture and not get carried away by the hype of playing T20 world champions and arch-rivals India. “Pakistan have a chance as they won a tri-series last week,” said Akram, referring to a T20 series with Afghanistan and the UAE. “They should not think that we just need to win against India, think of winning the Asia Cup,” he said. “You can lose to a big team but even then, stand up and play well in the tournament.
“I don’t think the match will be one-sided like India against UAE,” said Akram of India’s opening romp on Wednesday where they needed just 4.3 overs to reach their target after dismissing the hosts for 57. “Anything can happen in this tournament.” Pakistan beat Oman by 93 runs in their opening match on Friday. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Bangladesh are in Group B. The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Super Four. The Asia Cup final will be in Dubai on September 28.