Dhaka: Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik is eager to face Team India as the arch rivals clash in the Asia Cup, here on Saturday. India and Pakistan last met in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia where Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side thrashed their arch-rivals by 76 runs thanks to Virat Kohli’s 107 knock. The two countries have not played since.
Indian batsmen are very consistent but we have a good bowling attack. This is going to be a great game. This is going to be a big opportunity for players of both the teams," Malik told a leading Hindi news channel.
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Pakistan were scheduled to host India in a bilateral series last year but BCCI was not interested travelling to the UAE.
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There was much speculation whether Shahid Afridi’s side would feature in the ICC World T20. However, the Pakistan government recently gave the green signal to play at the main event where both sides will face off in Dharamsala on March 19.
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India are coming off a brilliant run of form in the shortest of the game having won six out of the seven T20Is they played this year. Pakistan lost bilateral series against England (3-0) and New Zealand (2-1).
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Malik said Pakistan's players are geared up after the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Coming after playing the PSL straightaway, our preparation has been very good. There's no doubt India have performed very well in Australia and even versus Bangladesh, I think it will be a great battle between two good teams," he said.
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In 12 editions of the biennial tournament, India and Pakistan have never met in the final but Malik, who has played 70 T20 matches so far hoped to meet the Men in Blue at the summit clash.
We wish it happens (playing India again in the Asia Cup in final and then in Dharamshala on March 19). We always want to play more and more against each other. Let's hope it happens," he said.
Malik also spoke about Mohammad Amir, who made a successful international comeback after serving a five-year ban.
Amir is returning after a gap of five years but you can see that his performance is consistent now. Cricketers of the world admit that he is still a world-class bowler but he needs a bit more time to settle down," Malik added.
