The 2023 edition of ODI World Cup begins in October where arch-nemesis India and Pakistan will square off at world's largest cricket stadium, Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on October 15. Notably, this would be the first time since 2016 when Pakistan would play an international match in India. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was played in the year 2012-13 on Indian soil. Notably, Pakistan cricket team are yet to get an official clearance from their government to arrive in India for the mega tournament.
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Ahead of the highly-anticipated India vs Pakistan ODI World Cup 2023 match, ex-Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq made a shocking statement about the 'Men in Blue'.
Razzaq said that India hadn't played Pakistan much in 1997-98, because they were afraid of losing as Pakistan were too formidable.
“We share mutual respect and friendship. There's only Indian team that doesn't play against Pakistan. From 1997-98, they didn't play much against us because we were too good, India always used to lose. Now, situation has changed, we are in 2023, but we have to change our thinking. No team is big or small, the performance on the day matters,” Razzaq told EHCricket.
Encouraging bilateral series resumption between India and Pakistan, Razzaq said he would love to see the two nations play a series against each other in the future.
"Both teams are good. You can't say Pakistan team is weak. You see the Ashes series, can you point out which team is better? The team which performs wins, as simple as that. We have to get out of this and play matches, series against each other," he added.
Before the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan and India will square off in the Asia Cup 2023, jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.