The India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is considered to be one of the most fiercest rivalries in the sports world and arguably second after Ashes rivalry between Australia and England in the gentlemen’s game.
India and Pakistan will get a rare chance to play each other – only in the ICC events and Asian Cup due to their bitter diplomatic relationships. They haven’t played a bilateral series since 2007.
The cricket matches between India and Pakistan are always special and enthralling one for both players and fans and no one wants to miss this grand fanfare event internationally with a jam-packed crowd making noises that cause intense pressure on the players to win.
Recently, former umpire Ian Gould shared his experiences of umpiring in an India-Pakistan cricket match, saying officiating a match between the two teams was always intimidating given a celebrated atmosphere and the huge crowd that can easily distract anyone on the cricket field.
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Gould told ESPNCricinfo: “It’s intimidating. Not the players. The players are outstanding people. I’ve done seven, eight India-Pakistan games and the guys are real good people. They get on with each other. If you allow a crowd to get to you, all that noise and Mexican waves, or whatever, can distract you,”
He signed off by saying, “Then you start missing bits and pieces and it’s a difficult place to be. But, you know, a couple of lads, last year or two years ago, did Bangladesh-Sri Lanka and there wasn’t one seamer picked in both sides. That would have been pretty difficult.”
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
