Credit: BCCI/PCB
Saim Ayub, Pakistan's young all-round cricketer, who will be facing India for the first-time in Sunday's Asia Cup 2025 clash, spoke about the pressure of the upcoming match in Dubai. He gave a pointed reply to the question asked during the press conference about his thoughts on his team losing to India in New York last year. "Sir, it has been a year and a half. At that time, if you had asked me, I would have told you how I felt. Do you remember? I do not remember now," Ayub said. The opener also brushed aside the pressure, insisting the India clash isn’t being given any special weight.
"I think this is the message of our team management for the last three to four months. The most important thing is to learn from the past and move forward. We don’t want to remember the past, and don’t want to focus too much on the future. It is going to be a big match for the people. We do not see it like this as a team. We see that we follow the same process day by day in the next match," said Saim Ayub, downplaying the high stakes surrounding Pakistan's clash against India, especially since it gets hosted once in a blue moon.
We don't want to remember the past and don't want to focus too much on the future: Saim Ayub
The India-Pakistan cricket match has always been the talk of the town for variety of reasons. The thoughts of Saim Ayub about the last loss against India and the upcoming clash read, "Memories do not matter. This tournament matters the most. We are not just looking forward to the Pakistan-India match. We are looking forward to winning the tournament."
The youngster has struggled for form in T20s lately, managing just 0, 17, 11, and 0 in his last four innings. However, he made an impact with the ball in the opener against Oman, taking two wickets for only eight runs in two overs on Friday. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are set to face each other on Sunday, their first meeting since the Pahalgam terror attacks that claimed 26 civilian lives and nearly pushed both nations to the edge of conflict earlier this year.
