'Doesn’t even matter...only interested in pure cricket': Rohit Sharma's strong take on IND vs PAK bilateral competition

Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam in frame (credit: Getty Images)
Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam in frame (credit: Getty Images)

Highlights:

Rohit Sharma acknowledges playing bilateral series with Pakistan.

He believes it will be good for cricket.

India vs Pakistan is arguably one of the biggest rivalries in cricket. However, due to the Indo-Pak political relationships, the neighboring teams only clash against each other in ICC and ACC tournaments. Both teams last competed with each other back in 2012 for three ODIs and two T20Is in India. The Indian captain Rohit Sharma opened up on resuming a bilateral clash between the two sides and he said he would love that as he only cares about pure cricket.

 

Rohit Sharma on playing Test against Pakistan

 

In a podcast with former England captain Michael Vaughan, Rohit Sharma appreciated the idea of India vs Pakistan bilateral clashes as it will help both teams to stay in the contest and it will be good for cricket as well. “Don’t you think India playing Pakistan regularly will be fantastic for Test cricket?” Vaughan asked Rohit.

 

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"I totally believe that! They are a good team. They have got superb bowling line-up. I think it would be a good contest, especially if you play in the overseas condition. That would be awesome. "Last test match played between India and Pakistan was way back I think in 2006 or 2008 (2007), where Wasim Jaffar got a double hundred in Kolkata," replied Rohit.

 

Rohit Sharma on IND vs PAK bilateral clashes

 

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"I would love to. At the end of the day, we want to be in contest. I think it will be agreat contest between the two sides. We anyway play them in the ICC tournaments. So, it doesn’t even matter. I am only interested in pure cricket. I am not looking at anything else. It’s just pure cricket. A battle between bat and ball. It will be a great contest so why not," said Rohit.

 

India vs Pakistan clashes always have the biggest buzz and it would be great for the sport if both teams could compete against each other in cricket more often. However, it won't be an easy task nor does it seem possible in the near future. As for fans, they can witness the next IND vs PAK clash in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Both teams will be taking on each other in New York, on June 9.

 

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