India might be thinking of revenge, but Pakistan can't dwell on past: Saqlain Mushtaq ahead of the Asia Cup clash of arch-rivals
Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq believes Team India might have vengeance on their minds going into their Asia Cup 2022 opener against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. The Men in Blue were thumped by the same opposition in last year's T20 World Cup and the scars from that defeat might still be fresh.
However, Mushtaq feels that the Men in Green cannot get over-excited and overconfident about their chances against this strong Indian outfit. The 45-year-old is of the opinion that the past reputation counts for nothing going into a fresh encounter as it is only the process that matters.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda ahead of the highly anticipated clash, here's what the former spin wizard had to say about the build-up to the encounter:
"You definitely look at the past to get some positives and understand what better you could have done. India might be thinking of revenge for their defeat last year. But as far as Pakistan is concerned, I think they will know that they can't dwell on the past and be over excited as it is all about a new day and a new challenge that lies ahead."
Saqlain Mushtaq on pressure of India-Pakistan encounter
Mushtaq believes none of the players from both teams will get bogged down by the pressure and hype that is created going into such a game. He feels these are the big games that these players dream of featuring in right from their early cricketing days.
Captains catching up ahead of the epic clash between India and Pakistan 🤝🇮🇳🇵🇰
📸 - Pakistan Cricket
#RohitSharma #BabarAzam #India #TeamIndia #Pakistan #CricketTwitter #AsiaCup2022 #INDvPAK https://t.co/1ZsKA4KYrB
On this, he stated:
"The pressure of playing in a big game like India vs Pakistan is something that you get used to right from your childhood days in gully cricket or age-group cricket. As a cricketer or as a coach it is your dream to be a part of such big matches and definitely both teams will have prepared well. So we all are excited for the encounter. At the end of the day, we are entertainers and will look to entertain."
What should be the Men in Blue's playing XI for tomorrow's clash? Let us know in the comments.