‘Indian cricket team much more relaxed when playing Pakistan’: R Ashwin on India vs Pakistan

With India and Pakistan set to face each other in the Champions Trophy at Dubai on February 23, it will be the sixth time that the two archrivals would play against each other in a Champions Trophy game. While Pakistan had won the 2017 Champions Trophy with a ten-wicket win over India, the Rohit Sharma led Indian team will be eying to score their third win over Pakistan in Champions Trophy. In ICC Tournaments including World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, India has won 16 matches out of 21 matches with just four losses and former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared that the current Indian team does not play under any pressure while facing Pakistan.

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“At present, whenever India and Pakistan play against each other, the Indian team is not under that much pressure as compared to what Pakistan team experiences. The Indian team is much more relaxed when there is a match against Pakistan at present. The Pakistan team is under much more pressure and it is visible as one sees their players. It seems that they are playing under a lot of pressure. It’s a bit sad but I think this Pakistan team has the quality and they can do something. If it’s their day, they can outperform India,” said Ashwin on his Youtube channel Ash ki Baat.

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The Indian team will be playing all its group matches in Dubai with their opening match against Bangladesh on Thursday. The match against Pakistan on February 23 will be followed by the Indian team facing New Zealand on March 2 and Ashwin sees the toss playing a big role in Dubai. With two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals, Ashwin has put his weight behind India, New Zealand, South Africa and England to be the semi-finalists in Champions Trophy.

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“This Indian team is a champion material team. I only have my reservations about five spinners in the squad. This is the team that has got the meat to be champions and there is a chance to win an ICC tournament for the second consecutive time. “It’s an early call. But I feel that if India wins the toss twice in Dubai, then India or New Zealand playing in the final is the highest. This is an early call but I think India will be in the final. My four qualifying teams will be India, New Zealand, New Zealand and South Africa. Afghanistan has got an outside chance. Champions Trophy has always seen surprises,” concluded Ashwin.

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