Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali recently commented on Ravi Shastri’s prediction that India will complete a hat-trick of Test series wins against Australia as well. He added that Indian and Australian experts will continue making such statements to try and create hype ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Basit, however, suggested that the series between India and Australia can’t have the same intensity of the India-Pakistan rivalry.

He said in his latest YouTube video, “I think they are trying to create hype. The whole world knows that India vs Pakistan is on one side and everything else is on the other side. Even Ashes isn’t that big. So, you are going to hear such statements now.”

However, the upcoming edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played Down Under later this year where the Test series opener between India and Australia will play in Perth from November 22. Basit Ali further stated that even if India and Pakistan compete in sports like javelin, kabaddi, or hockey, there will be more excitement among the fans. He added that when India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem compete in a javelin throw contest, which generated a terrific buzz.

“Arshad Nadeem beat Neeraj Chopra at the Paris Olympics, otherwise, it was a certain gold medal for India. The Indian cricket team has made it clear that they won’t travel to Pakistan, so just conduct a bilateral series of hockey, javelin, or kabaddi between India and Pakistan in some other country and you will know whether the India-Australia series is bigger or the India-Pakistan match is bigger. When Neeraj and Arshdad compete in javelin, the whole world will be in front of the television and the stadium will be full,” Basit Ali concluded.