After a lot of controversies and interruptions, the Pakistani team finally landed in the city of Kolkata on Saturday night when the government gave the team the clearance to travel to the republic of India.
A press conference was conducted and the Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi was interviewed by the media people about his plans and take on the World T20. Speaking to the press Shahid Afridi didn’t left any opportunity to praise Indian cricket team and the country in general. He alleged that his team has always loved and enjoyed playing cricket in India and has always been immensely loved by the people here than they have ever been loved in their own country.
He said, “India are playing very good cricket. If you look at last game against us in Asia cup, Virat & Yuvraj did really well. There are very less nations where I’ve enjoyed cricket as much as I’ve enjoyed cricket in India. I’ve not enjoyed playing anywhere as much as I have in India. I am in the last stage of my career and I can say that the love I have got in India is something that I will always remember.”
That we could surely agree with. After all we Indians are so generous and warm when it comes to welcoming the guests in our country. We have always believed, “Atithi Parmo Dharma”.
“I don’t really see any difference between Pakistani people and the Indians. We eat the same food, we speak the same language. I don’t really see any difference. I am very happy to be in India. I have always got a lot of love from people and from media. I’m honored to be in India,” he added
Talking about the governmental decisions, he said, “Whatever decision the state takes, we are behind them. We are cricketers and not politicians. Sport always brings two nations together. Can there be anything better than cricket? I think we should keep politics away from it,”
“They (Indians) will never have hearts like Muslims and Pakistanis. It is a very difficult thing for us to live with them (Indians) or to have long-term relationship with them. Nothing will come out of talks. See how many times in the past 60 years we have had friendship and then how many times things have gone bad.” he added.
Meanwhile Shoaib Malik who is married to the Indian Tennis star Sania Mirza, said: “I am very happy to be in India, I always get a lot of love. I am honored to be in India…you could figure it out their games have improved big time. Yes, we are little bit behind if you talk about short-term versions & little bit of ODIs as well.”
“My wife is from India. I come to India a lot, I never had any security. This is a great opportunity for us to perform well and bring Pakistan where the rest of the world is.” He also extended his gratitude towards the Indian Government for providing ‘very good’ security every time he visits the country.
Towards the end of the conference, the Pakistani Captain aptly said, “International cricket is all about pressure. The team which handles pressure well wins in the end.”
You may watch the entire press conference here,
The insane fans of both teams are eagerly waiting for the great encounter of the rivals in World T20 match on March 19.
Well, we wish the best team wins!
