Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan has stated that he wants Pakistan to win the high-octane clash against India at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday as it would make the tournament more enjoyable. Pakistan are coming off a drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in their first match and currently sit 4th on the Champions Trophy Group A points table. With 3 matches left in the tournament, the defending champions could find it difficult to qualify if they fail to win tomorrow’s match against India.
Wassan contended that Pakistan’s winning the match would keep the tournament alive. He told news agency ANI, “I want Pakistan to win because it will be fun, tournament-wise. If you don’t let Pakistan win, then what will you do? If Pakistan wins, then it becomes a contest. There should be an equal fight,”
Notably, Pakistan were crowned champions of the 2017 Champions Trophy after comprehensively defeating Virat Kohli-led India by 180 runs in that year’s final. However, the Men in Green also failed to overcome their neighbours in the group stage, losing by 124 runs in a group match at the same tournament.
Gautam Gambhir ‘picking his own team’:
Meanwhile, Wassan has also stated that India head coach Gautam Gambhir is “picking his own team”, which makes him “very upset” about the fact that Rishabh Pant hasn’t been included in the India playing XI. Notably, Pant – who was part of the IND 15 for the Champions Trophy – has been left out of the playing XI, with KL Rahul favoured by the team management at No 6.
“Gautam Gambhir is picking his own team. I am just very upset that Rishabh Pant is not playing. I don’t know why. He’s a mercurial player who makes the other team nervous. They feel that he will single-handedly win the match. KL Rahul is a very good player but does not attract such fear from the opposition. You let Rishabh Pant down. If you let a good player enter this situation that he won’t play, the hero in him becomes zero,” Wassan told ANI.
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