Pakistan skipper Safraz Ahmed believes his side will hold the psychological edge over India when the two sides clash in the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a club match for Lahore Club Cricket Association (LCCA) on Wednesday, Sarfaz said that familiarity of playing in home conditions should favour Pakistan in the tournament in the UAE.
“We will have a psychological edge over India because UAE is our home ground and we are in a better position to gauge the conditions and utilise it to our advantage,” the wicketkeeper batsman was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune.
“On the other hand, Virat Kohli-XI is a stronger outfit as far as overall experience is concerned,” he added.
The two arch-rivals and neighbours last met in the ICC Champions Trophy final in London last year where Pakistan triumphed by 180 runs to capture the crown.
“I am hopeful that it will be a good match because this is the first time both sides are facing each other after the Champions Trophy final,” said Sarfraz.
Pakistan had triumphed over India in the ICC Champions Trophy final.
India are currently locked in a five-match Test series in England and trail the hosts 0-2 after defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Virat Kohli’s men have been derided from all quarters for their lackadaisical preparations in which they played only one warm-up game against Essex.
Pakistan had toured England as well earlier this summer and had held the hosts to a 1-1 draw in the two-match series. The Pakistan skipper believes his side were helped by much stronger preparations in which they played three warm-up games in total before the start of the series.
“I have toured England twice and both times Pakistan team performed well. According to me, whichever Asian team travels to England tend to struggle. India is no different as the conditions there are really tough,” he was quoted as saying by Times Now.
“I guess Pakistan’s preparations were good. If we are talking about my first tour there (in 2016), we had reached England 25 days before the start of the series. We had a 10-day camp and then played two practice games – which helped us immensely,” he added.
India and Pakistan are slated to clash on September 19 in the Asia Cup in Dubai.
