India not scared of playing Pak: Misbah, Afridi

Karachi : Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and senior player Shahid Afridi today contradicted limited-overs skipper Sarfraz Ahmed’s claims that India were scared of playing against Pakistan and that was the reason why an Indo-Pak bilateral series was not happening. The two stalwarts refused to believe that the Indian team was not prepared or was afraid of playing against Pakistan.
“Sarfraz has his own views but I don’t think he said they were scared directly. To me it is simple, everyone knows the reasons for India not playing against Pakistan. It is all political and has nothing to do with cricket,” said Misbah, while unveiling the ICC Champions Trophy here today.
“I think the Indian players would also like to play against us but politics is not allowing a bilateral series. It is the Indian government which is not allowing it,” he said.
Misbah said it was a pity that India and Pakistan were not playing as he knew people from both the countries wanted to see the two teams play against each other regularly. “It is a great loss to cricket that we are not playing against each other like we should. We are achieving nothing by not playing against each other.”
He said even the Champions Trophy clash between the two teams on June 4 was already sold out.
Afridi, who announced his retirement from international cricket last month, agreed with Misbah’s views on the subject. “If there is no bilateral cricket being played, it is because of the Indian government. I don’t think the Indian players do not want to play against us,” he said.
Afridi, who led Pakistan in the last World T20 in India last year, said it was sad that people of both the countries were being deprived of a high-profile series. “When we went there last year, the Indian people were happy to see us play there,” he said.
Misbah said Pakistan had a very good chance of beating India in the Champions Trophy under the captaincy of Sarfraz as he had been taking the right decisions and utilising the players well. “He has done a good job and I think our team is a blend of experience and youth. We are now best placed to win the June 4 encounter against India and do well in the Champions Trophy,” Misbah said.