India will meet Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23.
During the pre-match conference ahead of India vs Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Dubai, Shubman Gill spoke about his views on the “overhyped” status of the rivalry.
The Indian vice-captain said, “India-Pakistan has its own history. It is an exciting contest every time both teams play. If so many people get happiness by watching this rivalry, who are we to call it over-hyped or under-hyped? We go to play cricket and we try to make our team win.”
India won their first encounter of the ICC event convincingly against Bangladesh earlier this week, courtesy of Gill’s blazing century (101 not out). Meanwhile, Pakistan were humbled in the tournament opener against New Zealand by a huge margin. The upcoming fixture is a do-or-die contest for the defending champions. Gill feels that Pakistan will pose to be a tough opponent.
He added, “It is a big match, but I think the biggest match would be the finals that any team plays. We have been playing some good ODI cricket. Pakistan have lost some of the matches they have played recently. By no means will we think of them as a lesser side.”
Over the years, fans around the globe have made the India – Pakistan rivalry one of the most talked about cricket contests. Furthermore, the national feud adds to the intensity. However, the players are often calm-minded in comparison to the spectators. Gill’s response on the fixture with the arch-rivals comes after former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh called the match “overhyped” because of the quality of both teams.
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The right-handed batter spoke about his recent century against Bangladesh during his ICC Champions Trophy debut match. His match-winning knock included nine boundaries and two sixes and he struck at a rate of 78.29.
“Definitely one of the most satisfying innings that I have ever played. Champions Trophy format is such, there is little margin of error. If you lose even one match, there is a lot of pressure and the rest of the games become must-win. There was a brief period in the match against Bangladesh, where there was little pressure on us as a batting group. The target was not that so we could have taken a little more time. We just tried to rotate the strike and take fewer risks,” said Gill.
The 25-year-old also articulated the different approaches adopted by the two openers, himself and Rohit Sharma. The skipper lost his wicket after amassing 41 off 36 at a strike rate of 113.88 while smashing seven fours.
“I think the way we play the game in the powerplay is quite different. Rohit bhai likes to play more aerial shots and try to hit those big sixes. I like to play grounded shots and pierce those gaps. If I see the bowler under the pressure, then I look to take my chances and go over the circle. That is the hallmark of us as a pair, we score boundaries with different shots and the bowlers really have to think which areas to target for us. The areas which we target are different to each other. It doesn’t affect me as such. Rohit bhai has his own style, if anything it helps in getting into my own groove and go about things. It is a delight to watch from the non-striker’s end. We have had few good partnerships over the past few years. I like to bat with him all the time,” he added.
India’s last ODI encounter against Pakistan was during the World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad. The hosts won by seven wickets. Their next meet-up in the format is on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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