Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, Sourav Ganguly, has downplayed the hype of the upcoming clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India in the 2022 Asia Cup. The two teams will commence their Asia Cup campaign as they face each other on 28 August at Dubai International Stadium.
Ganguly believes that the Indian cricket team should take the encounter as just another match and their only aim should be to win the tournament. He said that India has been performing well lately and should keep their momentum going in their bid to defend their Asian Cup title.
Former Indian captain further added that during his playing days he would not focus too much on the opposition when both the teams were playing against each other and always thought about winning the entire tournament.
I am seeing it as the Asia Cup. I do not see any tournament as India vs Pakistan. When I used to be in my playing days, India vs Pakistan was just another match for me. I always looked to win the tournament. India are a good team and they have done very well in the recent times and hopefully they team will give a good performance in the Asia Cup as well.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since India’s defeat by 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The two teams are likely to face each other at least twice in the tournament with a possibility of a third match if they both qualify for the final.
Overall the two sides have played against each other 14 times in Asia Cup history. India have an upper hand with 8 wins while Pakistan have won on 5 occasions.
The two arch-rivals will also lock horns in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia on 23 October.
