Rohit Sharma (L) and Babar Azam during the India vs Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2023 match.© AFP
Former off-spinner Saeed Ajmal says Pakistan and India should play cricket in their own countries and there is a lot of love between the two countries. Pakistan last toured India in 2012/13 and played a three-match T20I series and many ODI games. India last played in Pakistan in 2008 during the Asia Cup. There has been no Test series between the two teams since 2007. With the relationship between the two countries weakening, India and Pakistan only play each other in multinational events.
“Even if the India-Pakistan match were held on the moon, it would be a huge deal. There is a lot of love between India and Pakistan and we should go to each other’s countries,” Ajmal said on the sidelines of the launch event of the GloFans High School Cricket Cup in Sharjah and Ajman in November.
Ajmal played for Pakistan from 2008 to 2015, taking 178 wickets in 35 Tests. He also took 184 wickets in 113 ODIs and 85 scalps in 64 T20Is. He also batted for the survival of Test cricket, whose future was in jeopardy with the advent of the T20 league. “We need to promote long-distance formats (Test) cricket. Whoever plays the longest format can play other formats.”
Ajmal was all praise for the star batsmen of the current generation. “I like Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma. They are great players.” He also praised fast bowler Jasprit Bhumara, who was the player of the tournament in India’s triumph at the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup. “Bhumara is a very intelligent bowler and intelligence goes hand in hand with speed,” he concluded.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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