If You Want To Be Groomed On Handling Pressure, Play Against India: Junaid Khan
Published - 11 Jul 2021, 06:42 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 05:08 PM
Former Pakistan left-arm pacer Junaid Khan believes that there is a need for Pakistan players to play regular cricket against arch-rivals India in order to learn how to handle intense pressure.
The Indo-Pak rivalry is one of the most intense rivalries in cricket where the pressure and expectations of performing well against each other are immense on players from both sides.
The arch-rivals haven’t locked horns in a bilateral series since 2012 due to Pakistan’s repeated terror attacks in India, the most recent being the 2019 Pulwama attack, where more than 40 CRPF jawans were killed by a suicide bomber.
Junaid Khan has called for regular fixtures between India and Pakistan but admitted that it is an unlikely event in the near future.
“If you want to be groomed on handling pressure, play against India. The pressure is so much on both teams, the atmosphere is awesome. I do think there has to be cricket played between the two nations regularly. But looking at the circumstances, I don’t think it is going to happen anytime soon,” Junaid Khan told Cricket Pakistan.
‘I understand how to handle pressure’- Junaid Khan on playing against India in a bilateral series in 2013
The left-arm seamer wreaked havoc against the Indian batters during the course of the ODI series and he was instrumental in Pakistan eventually winning the rubber 2-1.
Khan revealed that he grew in stature as a player during that series as he learned how to handle immense pressure of expectations by the fans.
”When I toured India in 2012-13, I learnt a lot. I understand how to handle pressure. So if India and Pakistan play matches against each other, people from both countries will be equally happy,” Junaid Khan signed off.
