Follow UsOne of the much-awaited contests in this year’s One Day International (ODI) World Cup is the contest between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. While naturally, that fixture is set to hog all the attention, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam insisted that his team are going to play the World Cup and not just India in India.
"We are not thinking only about playing and winning against India in the World Cup. We are looking at doing well in every match if we are to win the ICC title," Babar said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.
"We are going to play the World Cup not just India in India."
Ahead of the released schedule, several reports suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) weren’t too happy with the scheduling and raised concerns over security. That eventually led to some changes in the venue for Pakistan. But for Babar, it is only ‘cricket’ that matters, while insisting that none of the off-field stuff bothers him.
"We don't focus on what is happening in the PCB. We just focus on cricket. We have the entire schedule of our coming matches before us and we know what needs to be done to win matches as professionals," Babar said.
"We have to play the World Cup wherever it is held and we are excited about the challenges ahead of us," he said.
Albeit it being different formats, Babar was confident that the experience of Mickey Arthur, along with the upcoming series experience in Sri Lanka, will come in handy for them.
"The formats are different but playing in conditions like Sri Lanka will help us prepare well," he said.