Team India began their preparation for the upcoming T20 World cup 2022 with a win in the practice game against Western Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth. The Men in Blue recorded a 13-run triumph, with Surykumar Yadav smashing a brilliant half-century.
After the contest, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin addressed the media, and during the chat, he came up with a classy response when quizzed about Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja‘s recent statement.
Notably, Ramiz had said that the Indian team had started to respect Pakistan following their defeats in T20 World Cup 2021 and this year’s Asia Cup. He further mentioned that critics should be crediting the present Pakistan side for beating a ‘billion-dollar team’ with the limited resources available.
“Pakistan humesha se underdogs rahein hain jab bhi India se muqabla huye hain, but of late, unhone hume respect dena shuru kardiya hain kyunki unke khayal me yeh hain ki Pakistan hume kabhi hara hi nehi sakte. So yehi main kehta hu ki Pakistan ko credit dijiye kyunki ek billion-dollar team cricket industry ko hum harate he. Main toh khud World Cups khela hu, humlog toh India ko nehi hara paate the. Iss team ko credit dena chaiye kyunki limited resources, compared to India, se prepare karte he and tagda muqabla karte hain,” Ramiz had said while speaking to Dawn.
When Ashwin was asked about Ramiz’s statement, the spinner came up with a blunt reaction. Ashwin said he hadn’t heard the statement and mentioned that wins and losses are part of the game, and one shouldn’t stress so much about it.
“Until you said that, I didn’t know he made a statement like that. That’s one way of dealing with it. But look, it’s a game of cricket. Whatever political tensions and whatever stays between the teams, the rivalry is big, and it means a lot to the people from both countries. But at the end of the day, whatever you may say as a cricketer and as someone who is playing the sport, you don’t understand that wins and losses are part of the game, especially in this format, the margins are going to be so close,” Ashwin told reporters.
