Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at the hype of India vs Pakistan during the Asia Cup. Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said that Sri Lanka have served a timely reminder to the Indian team by winning the continental tournament.
“They were under the radar, weren’t they? (India and Pakistan). Because everything about the Asia Cup,”Gavaskar said.
“Everyone was talking about India-Pakistan, India-Pakistan and India-Pakistan as if these were the only two teams. And when you look at the fact that Sri Lanka has won this (Asia Cup) for the 6th time, that is second only to India, it does tell you that when you talk about prospects, you must not ignore Sri Lanka. And that’s a nice tight slap that Sri Lankans have given to all those who were trying to say it’s going to be an India vs Pakistan final,” the former batter said.
In the final match against Pakistan, Sri Lanka showed exceptional ability to hold their nerves and they trounced Pakistan in the key moments of the game. securing a 23-run victory at the end of the day.
“I mean that should be the whole aim, it’s not just to win one match (against Pakistan) but to win the World Cup. And, obviously, beating Pakistan would be a great step forward because that gives you a lot of confidence, because then you can tackle the other teams. But I think you have got to win at least 4 out of the 5 matches because then you can qualify for the knockouts,” Gavaskar opined on what India should be doing.
