New Delhi: Whenever it comes to India vs Pakistan cricketing showdowns, the excitement is at the pinnacle. With the two teams set to face each other multiple times in the coming months -- In Asia Cup and ODI World Cup -- fans are eager to see the two arch-rivals in action.
Veteran Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan, who isn't in the scheme of things in the national team in any of the three formats at present, spoke of the Indo-Pak cricketing rivalry from a fan's perspective.
Dhawan explained how the attitude has always been to "not lose" against Pakistan, regardless of whether you win the World Cup or not, in a video shared on social media by Star Sports that has since been removed.
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"It has always been the case of 'Whether or not you win the World Cup, you have to beat Pakistan' (laughs). But winning the World Cup is also important and by god's grace hopefully we will. There's definitely excitement (while playing Pakistan) but also a lot of pressure. There's definitely a satisfying feeling playing against them when the match ends. Whenever I have played Pakistan, we have won mostly. The intensity on the field is also high, but there's also some light chat with them," Dhawan could be heard saying in the video.
One of India's best performers at ICC competitions has been Dhawan. His performance history against Pakistan also demonstrates the outstanding work he has done over the years.
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The opening batsman has 380 runs against Pakistan at a fantastic strike rate of 102.42 and a fantastic average of 54.28.
However, it doesn't appear that Dhawan will play for India this year in either the Asia Cup or the World Cup.
In recent months, players such as Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have made a stronger case for the opening spots in the Indian team.
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