Pakistan captain Babar Azam remains unaffected by India’s unbeaten record against them in 50-over World Cups. Instead, the 28-year-old sees it as a chance to end the winning streak and believes in his players to perform well in front of a potentially large audience.
Since the 1992 edition, India has won all seven 50-over World Cup matches versus Pakistan. The Men in Green, captained by Sarfaraz Ahmed, came within 89 runs of defeating their arch-rivals four years ago. With home advantage, the Men in Blue will be heavy favorites again.
Babar said during a press conference on Saturday that they have put the past behind them and are excited about performing strongly in Ahmedabad.
“I don’t want to focus on what has happened in the past. I want to keep my focus on what’s to come. Records are made to be broken. We will try and break this too. We are hoping to come up with a good performance tomorrow. India vs Pakistan depends a lot on who does well on the big day. I have belief that my boys will be able to step up on the day,”
Babar Azam
The top-ranked ODI player added that it will be a high-intensity game, but Pakistan believes in themselves to succeed.
“India vs Pakistan is a big game, it’s a high-intensity game. But it’s the best opportunity to give our best. We will continue to do what we have been doing well. We will certainly believe. Ahmedabad is a big stadium, a lot of fans will come. For us, it’s a golden opportunity to perform well,”
Babar Azam
It was also under Babar that Pakistan secured their first victory against the Indian national cricket team in World Cups overall when they beat them in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Hence, he will hope to do the same against Rohit Sharma’s men in Ahmedabad.
“Don’t think that my captaincy will be gone because of this match” – Babar Azam
When asked whether his captaincy would be in jeopardy based on the result, Babar dismissed the notion. He said:
“I don’t think about all these things. I don’t think my captaincy will be gone because of this match… Because of one match, I didn’t get the captaincy, because of one match, I won’t lose my captaincy. I believe in that. We have confidence from the way we played in T20s, from the way we played in 2019. We would want to keep it simple. We want to see it as the best opportunity to execute our plans. And the main thing is about enjoying the occasion.”
Babar Azam
Pakistan has won both of their World Cup 2023 matches so far, and a win against India will put them in contention for the crown.