T20 World Cup 2024: Another India-Pakistan game, and Babar Azam's ‘nervousness’

Babar admits India-Pakistan nerves

Everyone feels it. Very few reveal it. Babar Azam, the Pakistan white-ball captain, has the courage to speak about it publicly, that India-Pakistan matches make him nervous. “The expectations and hype around the match cause some nervousness,” he said on a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast.

India and Pakistan will play each other in the marquee T20 World Cup fixture in New York on June 9, and it is one of the great sporting rivalries. Babar spoke about that. “We know the India-Pakistan match generates more discussion than any other game,” he said. “Wherever you go in the world, you will have people talking about the India-Pakistan match, with everyone supporting their country. Every fan eagerly waits for the fixture and focuses on this one particular match.”

India have a very lopsided 6-1 head-to-head record against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup and from that perspective, Babar’s troops would be under a little more pressure when they take the field on Sunday. The Pakistan captain has urged his teammates to stick to the basics and stay calm. “It all comes down to how you handle it and the more you focus on basics, the easier it will be for you as a player,” he advised. “It’s a game of immense pressure and if you keep your cool, stay calm, and trust your hard work and skills, things will be easier.”

A game like India-Pakistan separates the men from the boys. Rewind to the India-versus-Pakistan match at the 2022 T20 World Cup. Chasing 160 for victory, India needed 31 off the final two overs. Haris Rauf bowled the 19th over and conceded only three runs in his first four deliveries. The equation became even tighter for India – 28 off 8. That was when Virat Kohli played the shot of the tournament. He punched a length ball around off stump straight back over the bowler’s head with almost a straight bat for a six. “Kohli goes down the ground, Kohli goes out of the ground,” the effervescent Harsha Bhogle said on air.

Kohli hit another six next ball and suddenly the game became India’s to lose. Eventually, a memorable four-wicket win was achieved. Kohli has done it so many times. He is special because he revels under pressure.

Fans from both sides of the border don’t take kindly to a defeat in this game. For the losers, social media can become a cesspit of hate. Of late, however, Indian fans have shown maturity, and the 50-over World Cup final last year was their coming of age; the way they reacted to India’s loss in the final. The fans rather celebrated India’s incredible World Cup journey and didn’t turn on the team or the players.

For the majority of Pakistan fans, though, a win against India remains their holy grail, irrespective of their side’s final position in the tournament. It adds to Babar & Co’s nervousness quotient.