Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has highlighted the significance of the fierce rivalry between India and Pakistan in international cricket.

Shastri shared his thoughts on current head coach Gautam Gambhir’s remarks about the high-octane India versus Pakistan clash in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

While the Champions Trophy is set to get underway on February 19 in Karachi, the two arch-rivals are slated to square off on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Gambhir recently claimed that the Champions Trophy group-stage match against Pakistan holds the same importance as any other fixture in the tournament.

Reacting to the comment, Shastri acknowledged that he had expressed a similar sentiment during his tenure as head coach but hinted that there is more to it than meets the eye.

“I was the coach for seven years. Whenever I was asked, I said the same thing (as Gambhir). But let me assure you, deep down, there's a lot more to that than you actually think, that's for the media,” Shastri said on the latest edition of The ICC Review.

“You have to say it. But deep down, you want to win that. Because if you don't, you'll be reminded of it until the next time you play against Pakistan.

“People don't care what you have done in the past. They're not bothered about the last 10 games if you won eight or you won nine. But they'll remind you if you lose one, until the next time you play them.

“It can be a taxi driver, it could be anyone on the street. What happened to India? The same question to Pakistan. What happened to Pakistan? So it always plays on your mind, so whether you like it or not, it's a different game. Different beasts altogether,” he added.

When the two teams last played in Dubai, Pakistan had defeated India by 10 wickets. It was a T20 World Cup match and hance, Shastri believes the ghosts of the 2021 drubbing will not haunt the Indian team.

“No, that won't play on their mind because that was a T20 game. This is a 50-over clash. It's totally different," Shastri remarked.

“And it's a longer game which suits India more, because in T20 you can get upset. In 50-over cricket, if you've got experience and you've got depth in your batting and bowling departments and you know, it makes a massive, massive difference.

“And when you look at India and Pakistan man to man, India is a far better side and far more experienced as well."