"If you want to be groomed on handling pressure, play against India" - Junaid Khan
Pakistan speedster Junaid Khan has spoken about the lack of games between India and Pakistan over the past few years. He believes there is a need for Pakistan players to play against India to learn how to handle pressure well.
The India-Pakistan rivalry is an age-old rivalry and games between the two sides are always highly anticipated by fans from both countries. However, due to the unfortunate political situation, the two teams haven't played a bilateral series since 2012-13.
Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Junaid Khan stated that he doesn't think there will be cricket between the two countries barring the ICC events anytime soon.
"If you want to be groomed on handling pressure, play against India. The pressure is so much on both teams, the atmosphere is awesome. I do think there has to be cricket played between the two nations regularly. But looking at the circumstances, I don't think it is going to happen anytime soon," Junaid Khan asserted.
I learnt a lot from 2012-13 India tour: Junaid Khan
Junaid Khan was one of the main reasons behind Pakistan's 2-1 ODI series victory over India in 2012-13. He was a nemesis for Virat Kohli in particular, who was able to score just 13 runs all series and was dismissed by Junaid Khan in all three ODIs.
Speaking on his experience of playing against India, Junaid Khan said that it made him more mature as a cricketer and gave him the ability to handle pressure better. So he feels consistent cricket between the two countries will benefit the players as well as the spectators who eagerly await such encounters.
"When I toured India in 2012-13, I learnt a lot. I understand how to handle pressure. So if India and Pakistan play matches against each other, people from both countries will be equally happy," Junaid Khan signed off.