We should think about World Cup, not only India: Shadab Khan
The arch-rivals will face each other on October 15
Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan has stated that he would prefer to win the ICC Cricket World Cup rather than prioritizing to beat India.
The 24-year-old was not shy to admit the pressure that comes with the India-Pakistan clash as it is the biggest match in the match, however, he said that the focus should be on the prize rather than one nation.
"Playing against India comes with a different sense of joy. The pressure overall is also different. Now when we have to go there, it will be their home ground - the crowd will be against us."
"However, we are going there to play in the World Cup, so we should think about it, and not only about India, because if we win against India and lose the World Cup, then there's no benefit of it," Shadab said.
The leg-spinner further stated that losing against India would mean nothing if Pakistan ended up winning the World Cup.
"In my opinion, even if we lose from India but end up winning the World Cup, it's a win-win because that is our main aim," he added.
It must be noted that the most anticipated match of the World Cup will be played between India and Pakistan on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the biggest stadium in the world that can gather as many as 132,000 spectators.
Men in Green’s record against the Blues in the World Cup isn’t something one would want to talk about as the former have lost seven out of seven matches against the latter including an infamous semi-final defeat in the 2011 World Cup in Mohali.
Here is Pakistan's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:
October 6 - vs Qualifier 1 in Hyderabad
October 12 - vs Qualifier 2 in Hyderabad
October 15 - vs India in Ahmedabad
October 20 - vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 - vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 - vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 - vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 - vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 12 - vs England in Kolkata
The day match will start at 10:00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30 pm (PST).
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