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Former Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has made a controversial statement ahead of the much-awaited India-Pakistan clash in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023. Naved has claimed that Indian Muslims will support Pakistan instead of India when the two arch-rivals face each other in the tournament.
The India-Pakistan match is scheduled to take place on October 15 at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is expected to host a huge crowd of cricket fans. The match is likely to be the most watched in the entire tournament, given the history and intensity of the rivalry between the two teams.
However, Naved-ul-Hasan has asserted that Pakistan will not lack support in India, as he believes that Indian Muslims will root for them over their own country. The 45-year-old made this remark during an interview on the Nadir Ali Podcast when asked about which team will start as favorites and how much support will Pakistan get. Naved said, "India is the favorite if there is any match in India. Muslims of India support Pakistan instead of India when Pakistan's match takes place in India."
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Naved explained this by saying that when he played the now non-existent ICL in India with Inzamam Ul Haq as his captain he got a lot of support from the Indian crowd. The 45-year-old said, “ We went to play ICL there. Inzy bhai (Inzamam Ul Haq) became captain. Indian Cricket League had started and we received a lot of support, We played against teams from all over the World. The crowd there used to support us a lot.”
This is not the first time that a former Pakistani cricketer has made such a provocative comment about Indian Muslims. In 2017, Shahid Afridi also said that he gets more love and support from India than from Pakistan, especially from Indian Muslims.
The pacer also claimed that Babar Azam is a better player than Virat Kohli because of his better technique and that he would get Kohli’s wicket fairly easily. Naved-ul-Hasan also recalled an incident where he sledded and dismissed Indian opener Virender Sehwag during a match. He said that he told Sehwag that he would not have made it to the international level in Pakistan, and then bowled him out with a slower ball.
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India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2013, due to political tensions between the two countries. However, they have met in various ICC events, where India has maintained a superior record in ICC tournaments over Pakistan, winning all seven matches in World Cups and losing just four matches out of 12 matches in the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup combined. The upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 will be another opportunity for both teams to showcase their skills and passion on the cricket field, and for fans to witness a thrilling contest.
