Team India captain Rohit Sharma came up with an interesting response when he was told that India and Pakistan have never met in an Asia Cup final. He initially did not respond to the question correctly and told the reporter that they played in the 2007 World Cup final. On being corrected that the query was about the Asia Cup, he was left a bit confused. However, the India-Pakistan rivalry is considered one of the greatest rivalries in world cricket, and they have rather surprisingly never met in an Asia Cup final. While, India are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, having won the competition seven times (six times in the ODI format and once in the T20I format), Pakistan won twice.
Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the India-Pakistan clash in Asia Cup 2023 in Pallekele, Rohit Sharma said, “Not surprised. That is how the tournament has gone for both teams. But no…what are you saying? We played 2007 T20 World Cup final,” the skipper said.
When explained that the question again about the Asia Cup, Rohit replied: “I don’t know. What can I say about that? Probably, maybe in this tournament.”
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However, India and Pakistan can certainly meet in the Asia Cup 2023 final by qualifying for the Super Fours and finishing in the top two in that round as well. The summit clash will take place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 17. While responding to another query on how they are preparing for the much-awaited game, especially Pakistan’s fast bowling trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah, Rohit came up with a funny response there too.
“See, we don’t have a Shaheen, Rauf or Naseem to practice against in our net sessions.” he said. “But we are preparing to the best of our abilities with the resources we have. All three are quality bowlers, have been for some time now and have been doing well as a unit,” he said.
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“Pakistan have always had quality bowlers, what their strengths are, we know that and we have experienced players, so it’s about using the experience to deal with the challenge,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
