Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav has opened up on diminishing quality of cricket during the matches between them and Pakistan. With both sides set to clash in the Super 4 round and the reporter asking if the rivalry is still the same, the 35-year-old cheekily said he doesn't know what rivalry are they speaking of, suggesting a dig.
The Group stage clash between India and Pakistan saw the former outperforming their arch-rivals comprehensively to win by seven wickets. The gulf between the two sides was glaring as the Men in Blue outplayed the opposition convincingly across facets.
Speaking during the presser on Saturday,
"Abhi dekho us time toh main kabhi khela nahin. Toh main bata nahin sakta. But rivalry ki baat kar rahe hain toh, aap log pata nahin kaun se rivalry ki baat kar rahe ho. Mujhe toh ground pe jaane ke baad stadium bhara hua lagta hai. Aur jab stadium bhara hota hai toh, main bolta hoon 'Bhai log entertainment ka time aa gaya hai'. Itne log aaye toh entertain karna padega sabko. Aur toh zyaada kuch sochte nahin hain."
(I have not played before, so I can't say. Since you are talking about rivalry, I don't know which one is being talked about. When I go to the ground, I see the stadiums filled. When the stadium is filled, I tell the boys. 'It's time for some entertainment'. When so many people have come, we have to entertain them. We don't think about anything else.)
Team India and Pakistan beat Oman and UAE in their last two matches
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan beat Oman and UAE, respectively, in their previous match of the multi-nation tournament. Although Pakistan will have taken some confidence from beating UAE by 41 runs, they face an uphill task of toppling the mighty Indian side. The Men in Blue had beaten their arch-rivals by seven wickets in the Group Stage fixture, outplaying them across departments.
Although Team India had rested Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy during the game against Oman, they are likely to return for the blockbuster clash. Pakistan will arguably need to play out of their skin to outclass the Indian side.
The Super 4 stage begins on Sunday, with Sri Lanka facing Bangladesh.
