Navjot Singh Sidhu believes 'no one can escape' India-Pakistan match

New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sindhu believed that no one can escape India vs Pakistan matches. Indian and Pakistan will face off each other at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

“I used to think that if I wanted to be a hero, this was my chance. I believed that if I played well against Pakistan, the fans would forget all my bad innings. There were many opportunities. Chetan Sharma would often remind me that he had taken a hat-trick and claimed 200 wickets. But wherever I went, people only mentioned the time Javed Miandad hit me for a six."

"This incident highlights the psychological impact of India-Pakistan matches. No one can escape it. My best memory is when I was named Man of the Match against Pakistan. This sentiment is shared by everyone. Sometimes, it makes you sad, but you cannot avoid it. This intense rivalry, this love and clash, is what makes India-Pakistan matches so captivating," said Sindhu whilst speaking to Star Sports.

Pakistan lost their opening encounter of Group A against co-hosts, the United States of America in what many are stating to be one of the biggest upsets in ICC tournament history. The result has Pakistan in a huge spot of bother as they need to win all of their remaining games to have any chance of qualifying.

Sidhu also went on to state on who he believes are the real game changers and will be the impact players for their respective teams in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

“See, game changers are those who will score 2 runs in a ball. You are talking about strike rates, 1.5, 1.7, but there are some people who are scoring 2.5 runs, three runs per ball. The innings of Romario Shepherd, 10 balls, 30, right. There are some people who in the end will come and score in 10 balls, a 35. Now that is the quality. That 35 in ten balls, if two people score and support someone like Virat Kohli, is a game changer."

" Make no mistake about it. And I've been saying this, you look at the IPL and you look at the T20 format, those who can actually score a 2.5 per ball or above two per ball are the real game changers.

There are so many of them. There is Ravindra Jadeja, there is Shivam Dube, and even Axar Patel also scores the runs in the same pace. Why is Dhoni such a great finisher, because his strike rate is 2.5, his strike rate at times is 4 per ball. That is the real game changing effect in the game of cricket in T20. It’s a different skill altogether, the skill to clear the ground,” added the former all-rounder.