Asia Cup 2022: "There used to be goosebumps"- Irfan Pathan recalls India-Pakistan clashes during his playing days

Irfan Pathan in action against Pakistan. (P.C.:Getty)

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan opened up about how fierce the encounters between Team India and Pakistan used to be during his days with the Men in Blue. Pathan has some great memories of playing well against Pakistan, including being named Man of the Match in the T20 World Cup final in 2007.

The 37-year-old accepted that although all the players always tried to downplay the occasion, there was always the added pressure of facing Pakistan and the feeling of wanting to do well against their arch-rivals.

Speaking to Sports Tak in an exclusive chat, here's what the former all-rounder had to say:

"The battle against Pakistan was always exciting. There used to be goosebumps. Players try their best to treat that game just like any other, but the pressure is very high."

I believe Team India can do really well in the T20 World Cup: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan is delighted with the kind of cricket that the Men in Blue have played recently in the shortest format. When asked about his thoughts on the Asia Cup squad, Pathan had no complaints and shared how positive he felt about their chances ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.

🚨#TeamIndia squad for Asia Cup 2022 - Rohit Sharma (Capt ), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

On this, he stated:

"I certainly believe that the kind of cricket Team India is playing at the moment, and the signs they have shown so far, we will do really well in the T20 World Cup."

Asia Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan.

Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Deepak Chahar.

Can Rohit Sharma and his men finally end the nine-year-long wait for an ICC Trophy by winning the T20 World Cup down under? Let us know in the comments.