T20 World Cup - ‘Which car’: What do Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam talk about when they meet?

Due to the strained political relationship, bilateral cricket between arch rivals India and Pakistan is still on hold, and tensions are high whenever they compete against each other in multi-team tournaments. The India vs Pakistan blockbuster match on October 23 in Melbourne is already generating excitement. Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma tried to dampen the excitement around one of cricket's greatest rivalries. According to Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam, general conversations about families and cars help players from India and Pakistan calm the tension before a match between the hostile neighbours. The teams' friendliness was visible at the recent Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, despite the fact that spectators treat every India-Pakistan match as a competition to outdo the other. Shaheen Afridi, a Pakistani speedster, wished for Virat Kohli to get well quickly while Rohit and his teammates wished for Shaheen Afridi to quickly recover from a knee injury. Also Read: ‘Billion-dollar side’ India now respects Pakistan as Babar Azam’s boys have proved their mettle: Ramiz Raja "At the Asia Cup, and now here, whenever we meet, we talk about how things are back home, how the families are," Sharma said at the pre-tournament captains' interaction with the media. "We understand the importance of the game but there's no point talking about it every time and creating that pressure within yourself," he added. "The previous generation of cricketers told us they too used to chat about these things -- 'how's life? Which car are you buying, or planning to buy?'" Also Read: When Sourav Ganguly won Saqlain Mushtaq’s heart with this kind gesture Babar, while confirming the bonhomie between the sides off the field despite the fierce rivalry on it, said they wouldn’t even discuss cricket. "He (Rohit) is senior to me. Whenever we come across, I try to tap into his experience since he has served India for such a long time. It's always good to learn from someone's experience," he said. Despite his happy disposition, the 28-year-old Pakistan captain was well aware of the match's significance. Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar is in great pain; check what he says in this video "Any match against India is always a high-intensity contest," he said. “Fans also wait for them. On the field, we enjoy it a lot and give our 100%." After being selected as a replacement for the injured Jasprit Burmah, Indian fast bowler Mohammad Shami joined the Indian team's practise session in Perth, Australia. The bowler can be seen being welcomed by the team in a huddle and taking part in the team's net sessions in a video that the BCCI posted on Twitter. Shami hasn't participated in a T20 international match since the ICC T20 World Cup in November 2021. He has been practising at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru since getting over COVID-19. He had missed the home white-ball series against Australia and South Africa due to this virus infection. (With agency inputs)

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