India and Pakistan cricketers get along with each other quite well, there's no denying that. The tension, the drama, the pressure, the weight of expectations surrounding an India-Pakistan match somehow don't affect the relationship between the players of both sides. The camaraderie between India's top stars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Pakistan's mainstays Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and their coaches Mohammad Yousuf and Saqlain Mushtaq was one of the highlights during the Asia Cup in UAE. And if the pre-tournament all-captains press conference was an indicator then the T20 World Cup in Australia will be something similar.
Captains of all 16 teams came together in two groups to address the press in Melbourne before the start of the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup. India captain Rohit Sharma and his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam were part of the second group that also included West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine, and Scotland captain Richard Berrington.
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Rohit and Babar seemed like two friends who just happen to play cricket for different countries. They were all praise for each other throughout but the bond between India and Pakistan was explained beautifully by them when one journalist asked about the conversations they have during tournaments.
"Ye (Rohit) bade hai mujhse, main koshish karta hu inse experience lu kyuki inhone itna serve kia hua hai toh jitni zyada sikhi jay wo accha hai hamare lie. (Rohit Sharma is older than me. I try to take as much experience as possible from him as he has been playing for a long time.)," said Babar.
{{/usCountry}}"Ye (Rohit) bade hai mujhse, main koshish karta hu inse experience lu kyuki inhone itna serve kia hua hai toh jitni zyada sikhi jay wo accha hai hamare lie. (Rohit Sharma is older than me. I try to take as much experience as possible from him as he has been playing for a long time.)," said Babar.
{{/usCountry}}"Nahi jaise Babar ne bola... We understand the game against Pakistan, but there is no point in talking about it every time and creating that pressure within yourselves. Hum log aapas mein jab bhi mile jaise Asia Cup mile, abhi mile, hum puchte hai 'ghar mein kya haalchaal hai? family kaisi hai?' bas us cheez k bare mein hum bat karte hai. Aur jitne bhi inke teamates se main mila hu.. Jo hamare pahle generation k players hai unho bhi hame bataya tha apas mein gharr k bare mein baatchit hoti hai... 'Life kaisi hai' kaunsi nayi gaadi khareedi hai. Ye saab baat hoti hai. (Whenever we meet against the Pakistan players, we met them in the Asia Cup and now... we talk about how are things back home, how the families are. Even our previous generation cricketers also told us the same thing. We just talk about what is going on, how is life and what new car they have bought or they are about to buy)," said Rohit during the media session.
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India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup starting on October 22. They will start their campaign against each other a day later in Melbourne. The last time, India and Pakistan met in a World Cup match, the Babar Azam-led won by 10 wickets in Dubai. Since then the two sides have played twice in the Asia Cup with honours being shared with a win each.