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ICC World Cup 2023: The Pakistan cricket team landed in India on Wednesday after seven years. Despite the political tensions between the two nations, India followed its culture and welcomed the Pakistani squad with much fanfare. Cricket fans expressed their love for the sport and chanted Babar Azam’s name when the skipper arrived with his team in India. However, Pakistan’s administration never shies away from showcasing its hostility towards India as in a recent video Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf can be heard referring India as a ‘dushman mulk’ (enemy nation).
The video of the PCB chief’s remarks is doing rounds on social media with even Pakistani people slamming the cricket board chief for the remarks.
“We have showed our love towards our players with the new contracts. No one has allocated as much budget towards player contracts as I’ve done. Mera maksad ye hi hai ki hamaare players ka morale up rehna chahiye, jab ye dushman mulk me khelne jaaye, ya kahi bhi jaaye jaha competition ho raha hai. (I only want my players to be in high morale when they travel to enemy nation, or anywhere in the world, to take part in the competition),” Ashraf said.
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Fortunately, the political tensions between India and Pakistan are never visible on the ground or training nets. The players of both nations behave respectfully with each other and even exchange cricket tips during practice sessions. Recently, a video of Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi touched hearts as he was seen giving a gift to Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who just became a father.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
Pakistan is facing New Zealand on Friday in the first set of warmup matches. The Babar Azam-led team received a big jolt ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023 as pacer Naseem Shah was ruled out of the World Cup due to injury. Hasan Ali has replaced Naseem Shah in the bowling squad of Pakistan and the team will play its first match against Netherlands on 6 October.
In the warmup match against New Zealand, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are playing in a good partnership as the team lost openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq early in the game.
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Updated: 29 Sep 2023, 04:03 PM IST
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