In an exclusive chat with India Today Digital, Pakistan fans Kisa Zahra, Abdul Rahman Shahbaz and Talha Hayat spoke about the return of the Champions Trophy to Pakistan. They spoke about the challenges faced by Pakistan cricket after the bus attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009 which had led to international cricket coming to a halt in the Asian country.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone, this is Sabbisarji Choudhury from India today, so we all know that the
00:05Champions Trophy is currently about to start on February the 19th and we have a match between
00:15India and Pakistan on February the 23rd. So an ICC event is returning to Pakistan after as many as
00:2629 years, so that's a very long time. So we have with us three of our guests,
00:35Kisa Zahra, Abdul Rehman Shahbaz and Tala Hayat. So first of all, I want to ask you,
00:45as Pakistan is hosting a tournament after 29 years, the first time since the World Cup 1996,
00:52how is the atmosphere there in the country and how is the buzz going on at this present
00:56point in time? Like if we talk about Pakistan hosting a tournament after so many years,
01:02like we have seen many ups and downs in Pakistan cricket, like since 2009 when cricket was moved
01:08out from Pakistan, that incident that still hurts many of the fans, those were growing up at that
01:15time of an era. So that was a difficult thing but when gradually, slowly and gradually cricket
01:22came back to Pakistan, first Zimbabwe came in, then PSL came back in Pakistan, then World XI
01:30and now finally ICC event is about to take place in Pakistan. So the buzz around in Pakistan is
01:38fantastic and everyone is excited and everyone is excited to give a statement to the world that
01:44Pakistan is the safest country and you will not find any more than more joy and fans like this
01:55anywhere in the world. Okay, so like when other teams are hosting matches in their home country,
02:03Pakistan have had quite a bit of difficulty since 2009 until around 2019 when teams gradually
02:11started going to Pakistan for matches on a regular basis. Australia went, England,
02:18Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, other teams also started going. So how is the feeling that now
02:24so many teams together are going to play in the Champions Trophy after such a long time?
02:33Yes, I mean it's an amazing feeling when the 2009 incident happened. I think
02:40many doubted us that there won't be cricket in Pakistan anymore and there were so many
02:46like so many obstacles we had to go through and we had to do everything and we were just
02:56we were just shattered and we were just blocked by the world. ICC wasn't supporting us,
03:00no one was supporting us. We did everything on our own and finally, finally after the long wait,
03:06we are going to host ICC events and it is one of the craziest thing happened for us as a fan
03:12because I know we had that childhood where we had to see that no Sri Lankan team getting attacked
03:20and all that. So yes, as a fan, it's a wonderful thing that we finally are getting that international
03:26cricket back and hosting an ICC event after the long wait. So as we know that Pakistan will start
03:32their campaign against New Zealand but the big game is against India. So any special plans for
03:38February 23, any special plans for the special day? Well, I'm actually overseas. I live in Europe and
03:47the Indian and Pakistani students here in my university are planning to watch the match
03:52together. So it should be should be fun and I think this is just one example of how
04:00off the field it is not as much of you know there's not much tension as much tension as
04:05the media creates whenever there is such an India versus Pakistan match and we can just you know
04:13watch the game together and enjoy it with our Indian brothers and sisters and it is
04:19just another example of how cricket can unite the two countries. Okay, so who do you believe
04:26is the biggest threat from the Indian team for Pakistan in that marquee clash in Dubai?
04:32Like if we have if we see the records and if we see the statics on paper there is no any other
04:39player dangerous than Virat Kohli. So obviously, Virat Kohli will be the key factor but I guess
04:47there will be also Rohit Sharma. We have seen that these players were lacking the form from a
04:54long time but now they have the series which they played against England. They regained their form
05:00so the key player to watch out in from Indian team on that day will be Virat Kohli and Rohit
05:06Sharma of course and their spin department I guess Kuldeep Yadav will be the key to watch.
05:13So I will ask this to all three of you. So who are the Indian cricketers you are
05:18most looking forward to watching in the Champions Trophy? Kisa first.
05:25Okay, Hardik Pandya. He has been in great form and one of my favorites player from India
05:31and Aksar Patel. I mean no one rates him highly. He's some sort of a player who is underrated
05:36and probably won't be making it with the playing glamour of India.
05:40Just my guess but Aksar Patel. Yes, I mean just I hope he does well. Not against us but overall.
05:47So yeah, I'm rooting for Aksar Patel. For me as I said earlier, I'm a huge fan of Kohli as well.
05:52So for me, Kohli will be a player to watch but the player whom I'm looking forward is like Kisa
06:02mentioned Hardik Pandya. The best all-rounder in cricket, white ball cricket. So Hardik Pandya
06:08will be the player to watch out in this tournament. For me, I think it will be Kuldeep Yadav. I've
06:13always enjoyed him ball because left arm length spinners are a pretty rare sight and he'll have
06:20very favorable conditions in Dubai. So it should be fun to watch him bowl although not on Sunday.
06:27Okay, so what's your most special moment of watching an India-Pakistan match?
06:34It has to be 2018 Championship Finals. I mean it was amazing. It was unexpected because no one
06:42counted us. We were struggling to make to the room for the Championship and then we ended up
06:48winning it against India. It has to be the best moment and it has to be the best match I have
06:54witnessed for Pakistan and India. So one cricketer you would want to see playing in Pakistan from
07:02India? All three of you have to pick at least one cricketer that you would want to see play in
07:08Pakistan. Obviously, the fan following Virat Kohli has. So obviously, we would love to see Babar and
07:15Kohli playing the same match in Pakistan. Yeah, I would also pick Virat Kohli of course and just
07:23imagining like seeing him play in Lahore is such an exciting thought and hopefully we get to see
07:30it one day. Okay, and of course Bumrah as well. Big fan of Bumrah. Okay, so as a fan, as a fan,
07:41purely as a fan, do you want to see India-Pakistan matches taking place in Pakistan? Yes, obviously yes.
07:51Yes, I mean yes definitely and there was a Netflix documentary recently about India's
07:59tour to Pakistan and they showed how you know how the Indian cricketers felt welcomed. So I'm
08:05sure if the Indian teams come comes again to Pakistan, they will feel similarly welcomed.
08:11Okay, so now Babar Hassan has been a talking point in this Champions Trophy that whether he
08:18should open the batting or not. I was just going through stats that he averages some 17.6 while
08:23opening the batting but Mohammad Rizwan has constantly backed him saying that he is kind
08:30of suited to opening the batting. So what's your take on this decision whether they should have
08:36gone for someone like an Imamul Haq or is the decision to send Babar as a makeshift opener
08:43is right from Pakistan's perspective?
08:45In my opinion, I don't think so Babar should open for Pakistan. Babar is your main player, Babar is
08:55your number one ODI player and he scored all of all runs in his career at the number three position.
09:02So according to me, changing the position of your key batter is the worst idea to do because if you
09:11are bringing someone who is perfect at number three, then it's a right call. But when your number
09:16three is also not confirmed, so according to me, it's the wrong call because Babar has scored, Babar
09:23has become number one ODI player playing at number three and you talk about Imamul Haq. Yeah, Imam
09:28can be a great option but in my opinion, you are going with Abdullah Shafiq, you invested with him
09:34so you should carry him because I guess he just one bad series went for him that was against South
09:41Africa but considering his performances in the last World Cup, you should go with Abdullah Shafiq
09:48but now it is what it is so we are here to support our team. Now Pakistan recently chased down their
09:58highest target in ODIs but then again they lost to New Zealand both in the group stage and in the
10:04final. Now it's like Pakistan showing two levels of extreme. One is something you don't expect from
10:09them like they chased down some 354 against South Africa and then they lost to New Zealand very
10:15tamely in both the matches. So do you feel that they need some kind of consistency in this
10:22tournament to have any chance of defending their title? Yes, I mean if we talk about Pakistan,
10:30we always have been that unpredictable and we are still carrying it. As you mentioned that we
10:37gunned down the 354 target and then we went to loss in New Zealand like single-handedly. So I
10:43mean this has been the case with our team but of course we are playing in our home conditions
10:49and we play the actual tournament. It has to be different from the playing a tri-nation series
10:53so we are hoping, I as a fan, I'm hoping that we do try our best to play the best cricket and keep
11:00that consistency because if we are not consistent we are not going to defend the title. So
11:05hopefully the middle order have to stand up and the opening pair should be sorted out
11:12as of now so that we can expect a better result and consistent result from our team.
11:19Mohammad Rizwan was asked in the press conference that Babu Dalsam is being called the king.
11:26Now do you feel that it creates some kind of extra pressure on Babar because Babar also
11:31recently told that I still have a long way to go and please do not call me. So do you feel that
11:39from the fans, if the expectations from the fans create that extra bit of pressure on Babar that
11:45is kind of weighing him down? I think to be honest like once you make it to that global stage you
11:53have to learn to tune out all the social media noise and kind of stay away from it.
12:00But obviously the fact that Babar said what he said is clear that he is feeling the pressure
12:05but I hope that he gets support from the crowd. He always gets support from the crowd but
12:13especially playing an ICC event at home I hope that he doesn't let the pressure outweigh all
12:19the support that he will definitely get from the crowd and I think he definitely has the skills to
12:25succeed as an opener as well. So to be honest I am begging him to make runs in this tournament.
12:31Okay so all three of you so if you have to choose your four
12:35semi-finalists from this champions trophy which teams would it be from both the groups?
12:41From group A it will be Pakistan and New Zealand and from group B it will be Afghanistan and
12:50Australia. For me it has to be Pakistan and New Zealand and South Africa and Afghanistan.
12:57Okay I'll pick Pakistan and India from group A and Afghanistan and South Africa from group B.
13:05Okay and if you have to choose finalists now it's a bit tougher if you have to choose finalists
13:09if you have to choose finalists who would that be? Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan versus
13:19New Zealand and my finalist would be Pakistan and South Africa. Okay so thank you so much all
13:27three of you for taking time out. Thank you so much it's a real honor talking to all of your
13:33fans in Pakistan. Thank you so much again. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.