ICC World Cup 2023 | 'More pressure for tickets than match: Babar Azam on India vs Pakistan

Babar Azam (L) and Iftikhar Ahmed view the pitch during a practice session (Pic: AFP)

Ahead of the high-intensity clash with India in the ICC World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad's Motera, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said on Friday that the pressure of providing tickets for the game is more compared to the match itself.

After registering two back-to-back wins, India, riding on high confidence will face traditional rivals Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

"There is more pressure for match tickets than match," Babar said in the pre-match press conference.

"It is not a pressure match for us. We have played each other a lot of times. We got a lot of support in Hyderabad and we hope the same for Ahmedabad. What matters is what we can do best as a team in both batting and bowling. In these conditions the margin of error for bowlers is minimal." the Pakistan skipper said.

"Experience helps you play better when I was a youngster I used to get nervous but there are seniors who help you out," he added.

Babar showed confidence that they would win the match against India, leaving all the records suggesting India as a strong team behind.

"I think what has happened in the past is not important. We want to live in present. I think we can do well. India-Pakistan match is high-intensity. Believe in ourselves. There are a lot of fans coming. I think we have an opportunity to do well in front of fans," he further stated.

"We plan accordingly as in the first 10 overs the wicket is different and after 10 overs it is different. So, we have to plan accordingly. We will miss Naseem Shah. Shaheen is our best bowler. We believe in him and he believes in himself. One or two matches of bad performance do not bother us."

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Babar mentioned Pakistan's T20I World Cup win against India and said that they will repeat the same in the ODI World Cup at Ahmedabad.

"In 2021 we beat India in T20 WC. I think we can do that here as well. I have not scored many runs in this World Cup till now and I hope it changes. You need to field well if you want to do well in the World Cup. We are working on it. Fielding is about attitude," he concluded.

Predicted squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.

(With inputs from agencies)