India will meet Pakistan in the group stage of the 2018 Asia Cup
Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik has said that India and Pakistan should play more matches as it would help in improving the ties between the two nations.
The 36-year-old further stated that players from both the countries share cordial relations with each other and are very professional on the field.
"It is in the benefit of all if both India and Pakistan play a maximum number of matches against each other as it brings entertainment not only for the people of the two countries but also for the rest of the world. It also brings the people of India and Pakistan closer to each other," Dawn.com quoted Malik, as saying.
"The cricketers of India and Pakistan are professionals and they want to give their best on the field against each other. And off the field, they like to behave like friends and we take meals together," he added.
Reflecting on the omission of batting all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez from the team ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup, the right-hand batsman said that such issues are a part of one's professional career and the best way to come out of the same is to perform well in the domestic circuit.
"As a cricketer, everybody faces such problems in their career. And the better way to deal with it is to perform on the domestic circuit and also to hold table-talk with the authorities concerned to have their [player's] reservations if any exists, removed," he said.
Commenting on the India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup, the former skipper asserted that the key to winning the match would be to play without any extra pressure.
India will face Pakistan in the group stage on September 19 and it would be opener Rohit Sharma who would be leading the Men in Blue in the tournament as skipper Virat Kohli has been rested after a long gruelling tour of England. Rohit, who was not in the Indian Test squad in the five-match series against England, will be back in action along with former skipper MS Dhoni.
Malik added that the upcoming 2019 World Cup would be his last ODI tournament, while he intends to prolong his T20I career till the World T20 slated to be held in the year 2020.
(With ANI Inputs)
