00:00Hello everyone, this is Sabbisarji Choudhury from India today, so we all know that the
00:05Champions Trophy is currently about to start on February the 19th and we have a match between
00:15India and Pakistan on February the 23rd. So an ICC event is returning to Pakistan after as many as
00:2629 years, so that's a very long time. So we have with us three of our guests,
00:35Kisa Zahra, Abdul Rehman Shahbaz and Tala Hayat. So first of all, I want to ask you,
00:45as Pakistan is hosting a tournament after 29 years, the first time since the World Cup 1996,
00:52how is the atmosphere there in the country and how is the buzz going on at this present
00:56point in time? Like if we talk about Pakistan hosting a tournament after so many years,
01:02like we have seen many ups and downs in Pakistan cricket, like since 2009 when cricket was moved
01:08out from Pakistan, that incident that still hurts many of the fans, those were growing up at that
01:15time of an era. So that was a difficult thing but when gradually, slowly and gradually cricket
01:22came back to Pakistan, first Zimbabwe came in, then PSL came back in Pakistan, then World XI
01:30and now finally ICC event is about to take place in Pakistan. So the buzz around in Pakistan is
01:38fantastic and everyone is excited and everyone is excited to give a statement to the world that
01:44Pakistan is the safest country and you will not find any more than more joy and fans like this
01:55anywhere in the world. Okay, so like when other teams are hosting matches in their home country,
02:03Pakistan have had quite a bit of difficulty since 2009 until around 2019 when teams gradually
02:11started going to Pakistan for matches on a regular basis. Australia went, England,
02:18Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, other teams also started going. So how is the feeling that now
02:24so many teams together are going to play in the Champions Trophy after such a long time?
02:33Yes, I mean it's an amazing feeling when the 2009 incident happened. I think
02:40many doubted us that there won't be cricket in Pakistan anymore and there were so many
02:46like so many obstacles we had to go through and we had to do everything and we were just
02:56we were just shattered and we were just blocked by the world. ICC wasn't supporting us,
03:00no one was supporting us. We did everything on our own and finally, finally after the long wait,
03:06we are going to host ICC events and it is one of the craziest thing happened for us as a fan
03:12because I know we had that childhood where we had to see that no Sri Lankan team getting attacked
03:20and all that. So yes, as a fan, it's a wonderful thing that we finally are getting that international
03:26cricket back and hosting an ICC event after the long wait. So as we know that Pakistan will start
03:32their campaign against New Zealand but the big game is against India. So any special plans for
03:38February 23, any special plans for the special day? Well, I'm actually overseas. I live in Europe and
03:47the Indian and Pakistani students here in my university are planning to watch the match
03:52together. So it should be should be fun and I think this is just one example of how
04:00off the field it is not as much of you know there's not much tension as much tension as
04:05the media creates whenever there is such an India versus Pakistan match and we can just you know
04:13watch the game together and enjoy it with our Indian brothers and sisters and it is
04:19just another example of how cricket can unite the two countries. Okay, so who do you believe
04:26is the biggest threat from the Indian team for Pakistan in that marquee clash in Dubai?
04:32Like if we have if we see the records and if we see the statics on paper there is no any other
04:39player dangerous than Virat Kohli. So obviously, Virat Kohli will be the key factor but I guess
04:47there will be also Rohit Sharma. We have seen that these players were lacking the form from a
04:54long time but now they have the series which they played against England. They regained their form
05:00so the key player to watch out in from Indian team on that day will be Virat Kohli and Rohit
05:06Sharma of course and their spin department I guess Kuldeep Yadav will be the key to watch.
05:13So I will ask this to all three of you. So who are the Indian cricketers you are
05:18most looking forward to watching in the Champions Trophy? Kisa first.
05:25Okay, Hardik Pandya. He has been in great form and one of my favorites player from India
05:31and Aksar Patel. I mean no one rates him highly. He's some sort of a player who is underrated
05:36and probably won't be making it with the playing glamour of India.
05:40Just my guess but Aksar Patel. Yes, I mean just I hope he does well. Not against us but overall.
05:47So yeah, I'm rooting for Aksar Patel. For me as I said earlier, I'm a huge fan of Kohli as well.
05:52So for me, Kohli will be a player to watch but the player whom I'm looking forward is like Kisa
06:02mentioned Hardik Pandya. The best all-rounder in cricket, white ball cricket. So Hardik Pandya
06:08will be the player to watch out in this tournament. For me, I think it will be Kuldeep Yadav. I've
06:13always enjoyed him ball because left arm length spinners are a pretty rare sight and he'll have
06:20very favorable conditions in Dubai. So it should be fun to watch him bowl although not on Sunday.
06:27Okay, so what's your most special moment of watching an India-Pakistan match?
06:34It has to be 2018 Championship Finals. I mean it was amazing. It was unexpected because no one
06:42counted us. We were struggling to make to the room for the Championship and then we ended up
06:48winning it against India. It has to be the best moment and it has to be the best match I have
06:54witnessed for Pakistan and India. So one cricketer you would want to see playing in Pakistan from
07:02India? All three of you have to pick at least one cricketer that you would want to see play in
07:08Pakistan. Obviously, the fan following Virat Kohli has. So obviously, we would love to see Babar and
07:15Kohli playing the same match in Pakistan. Yeah, I would also pick Virat Kohli of course and just
07:23imagining like seeing him play in Lahore is such an exciting thought and hopefully we get to see
07:30it one day. Okay, and of course Bumrah as well. Big fan of Bumrah. Okay, so as a fan, as a fan,
07:41purely as a fan, do you want to see India-Pakistan matches taking place in Pakistan? Yes, obviously yes.
07:51Yes, I mean yes definitely and there was a Netflix documentary recently about India's
07:59tour to Pakistan and they showed how you know how the Indian cricketers felt welcomed. So I'm
08:05sure if the Indian teams come comes again to Pakistan, they will feel similarly welcomed.
08:11Okay, so now Babar Hassan has been a talking point in this Champions Trophy that whether he
08:18should open the batting or not. I was just going through stats that he averages some 17.6 while
08:23opening the batting but Mohammad Rizwan has constantly backed him saying that he is kind
08:30of suited to opening the batting. So what's your take on this decision whether they should have
08:36gone for someone like an Imamul Haq or is the decision to send Babar as a makeshift opener
08:43is right from Pakistan's perspective?
08:45In my opinion, I don't think so Babar should open for Pakistan. Babar is your main player, Babar is
08:55your number one ODI player and he scored all of all runs in his career at the number three position.
09:02So according to me, changing the position of your key batter is the worst idea to do because if you
09:11are bringing someone who is perfect at number three, then it's a right call. But when your number
09:16three is also not confirmed, so according to me, it's the wrong call because Babar has scored, Babar
09:23has become number one ODI player playing at number three and you talk about Imamul Haq. Yeah, Imam
09:28can be a great option but in my opinion, you are going with Abdullah Shafiq, you invested with him
09:34so you should carry him because I guess he just one bad series went for him that was against South
09:41Africa but considering his performances in the last World Cup, you should go with Abdullah Shafiq
09:48but now it is what it is so we are here to support our team. Now Pakistan recently chased down their
09:58highest target in ODIs but then again they lost to New Zealand both in the group stage and in the
10:04final. Now it's like Pakistan showing two levels of extreme. One is something you don't expect from
10:09them like they chased down some 354 against South Africa and then they lost to New Zealand very
10:15tamely in both the matches. So do you feel that they need some kind of consistency in this
10:22tournament to have any chance of defending their title? Yes, I mean if we talk about Pakistan,
10:30we always have been that unpredictable and we are still carrying it. As you mentioned that we
10:37gunned down the 354 target and then we went to loss in New Zealand like single-handedly. So I
10:43mean this has been the case with our team but of course we are playing in our home conditions
10:49and we play the actual tournament. It has to be different from the playing a tri-nation series
10:53so we are hoping, I as a fan, I'm hoping that we do try our best to play the best cricket and keep
11:00that consistency because if we are not consistent we are not going to defend the title. So
11:05hopefully the middle order have to stand up and the opening pair should be sorted out
11:12as of now so that we can expect a better result and consistent result from our team.
11:19Mohammad Rizwan was asked in the press conference that Babu Dalsam is being called the king.
11:26Now do you feel that it creates some kind of extra pressure on Babar because Babar also
11:31recently told that I still have a long way to go and please do not call me. So do you feel that
11:39from the fans, if the expectations from the fans create that extra bit of pressure on Babar that
11:45is kind of weighing him down? I think to be honest like once you make it to that global stage you
11:53have to learn to tune out all the social media noise and kind of stay away from it.
12:00But obviously the fact that Babar said what he said is clear that he is feeling the pressure
12:05but I hope that he gets support from the crowd. He always gets support from the crowd but
12:13especially playing an ICC event at home I hope that he doesn't let the pressure outweigh all
12:19the support that he will definitely get from the crowd and I think he definitely has the skills to
12:25succeed as an opener as well. So to be honest I am begging him to make runs in this tournament.
12:31Okay so all three of you so if you have to choose your four
12:35semi-finalists from this champions trophy which teams would it be from both the groups?
12:41From group A it will be Pakistan and New Zealand and from group B it will be Afghanistan and
12:50Australia. For me it has to be Pakistan and New Zealand and South Africa and Afghanistan.
12:57Okay I'll pick Pakistan and India from group A and Afghanistan and South Africa from group B.
13:05Okay and if you have to choose finalists now it's a bit tougher if you have to choose finalists
13:09if you have to choose finalists who would that be? Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan versus
13:19New Zealand and my finalist would be Pakistan and South Africa. Okay so thank you so much all
13:27three of you for taking time out. Thank you so much it's a real honor talking to all of your
13:33fans in Pakistan. Thank you so much again. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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