Aaqib Javed Issues Stern Warning to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of India vs Pakistan showdown: ‘No Room for Advantage…’

Due to heightened political tensions, India has chosen not to travel to Pakistan for the tournament. As a result, all of India's matches are being played in Dubai. This decision has sparked controversy among fans, with many pointing out that despite being the hosts, Pakistan is still required to travel to Dubai for their fixtures. Some fans believe that India has an unfair advantage as they have already played a game in Dubai.

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But Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed rejected such a perspective, and felt that his side have a slight advantage, as all their home fixtures were played in the UAE from 2009 to 2019.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, he claimed, “There's no advantage [for India] at all, because if you look at all the Pakistani players, they have been playing leagues here. The PSL has been played here. So there's nothing really - there's no advantage or disadvantage.”

“We also have to see the pitch and the ground here. Are these similar to the one we have in Pakistan or are they different? We will play in accordance with the pitches, conditions and the opposition team.”

Gearing up for the blockbuster clash, the former player said, “In a Pakistan-India game, the energy will remain high. And this is the beauty of this contest. What does the crowd do? When you play well, the crowd supports you, they clap their hands. When you play poorly, be it India or Pakistan, the home crowd will go against you. As a player, you shouldn't keep the crowd in mind. We never kept it and neither should these players. What's your focus? Ball, bat - that's it.”

In terms of head-to-head, Pakistan lead 73-57 against India, and five matches have ended with no result between both sides. But in their last six ODIs since 2018, Pakistan have lost all their matches. Meanwhile in the tournament’s history, they have taken on each other five times, with the first coming in 2004. Their last was in the 2017 final, where Pakistan won by 180 runs. India trail 2-3 vs Pakistan in Champions Trophy head-to-head.

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