For Shadab Khan, Even If Pakistan Lose To India At 2023 World Cup, It'll Be 'Win-Win' If This Happens

From the day the 2023 World Cup schedule was announced, all eyes are on the India-Pakistan clash. The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October. The tournament will begin with holders England taking on New Zealand on October 5 at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will also host the final. The schedule was announced after weeks of delay due to Pakistan's earlier refusal to travel to India, but a compromise was reached when Pakistan agreed to host a hybrid-model Asia Cup in September.

Pakistan star player has made an interesting comment on the clash. "Playing against India comes with a different sense of joy. The pressure overall is also different. Now when we have to go there, it will be their home ground - the crowd will be against us. However, we are going there to play in the World Cup, so we should think about it, and not only about India, because if we win against India and lose the World Cup, then there's no benefit of it," Shadab told Cricket Pakistan.

"In my opinion, even if we lose against India but end up winning the World Cup, it's a win-win because that is our main aim."

In Pakistan's previous cricket trip to India during the 2016 T20 World Cup, the match was shifted from Dharamsala to Kolkata over security concerns.

The 48-match tournament will be played at 10 venues across 46 days, with the top four from the 10-team round-robin stage going through to the semi-finals, the ICC said in a statement 100 days before the tournament begins.

Eight teams have already qualified through the World Cup Super League. The final two spots will be filled at the end of the current qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe.

With AFP inputs