“India are afraid of playing Pakistan” – Sarfaraz Ahmed – essentiallysports.com

The bilateral series between India and Pakistan is once again the talk of the town following a very bizarre comment by Pakistan wicket keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed. The neighbors last faced each other during the 2016 T20 World Cup in India where the hosts thrashed the visitors by 6 wickets. The last India-Pakistan series was back in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-1 after squaring the T20 series 1-1. The arch rivals who share an interesting cricket history and reminisce about the finest performance against each other, no longer play each other due to political reasons. With persistent incidents at the Line of Control and political dissents, talks of a bilateral series between these neighbors has disappeared like vapor.

There have been various comments on this heated matter where in the teams have expressed their desire to play a bilateral series. Many former cricketers believe that a sport should not suffer due to political standoffs. However the recent remark from Pakistan’s limited overs skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has set this matter ablaze. He said ” It’s always Pakistan who have come forward to play with India and they should respond positively. Perhaps India are afraid of facing Pakistan which is why they don’t play against us. It’s always fun to play in a match against India. We will try to win against India in the Champions Trophy but the main thing is for the team to fight for success against all teams.”

The India Pakistan matches have always been the most awaited ones by the fans from both the nations. The arch rivals do not meet in a bilateral series but happen to encounter during ICC events like the World Cup or the Champions Trophy or during the Asia Cup. Contrary to Sarfaraz’s comment, India have won 6 of the last seven meetings on the field. Even ICC’s rankings across all three formats confront the Pakistan skipper’s views. The arch rivals will now meet on 4th June in Edgebaston during the Champions Trophy. It will be interesting to see how the future of the bilateral series between these nations is shaped after continuous political tension.