Imran Khan, legendary Pakistan captain, all-rounder and its contemporary Prime Minister, fears that if his countrymen are to resume bilateral ties with India in existing times, especially at this side of the border, the atmosphere at the venues would be "terrible".
Due to political indifferences and border tension, India and Pakistan haven't played each other bilaterally in limited-overs matches since 2012, with their last Test meeting dating back further five years. The two nations have clashed only in multi-team major events since then.
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Imran recounted fond memories of playing against India in India during the 'Out Of Exile' documentary by Sky Sports, as quoted by PakPassion.
“I played two series in India. One in 1979 when the two governments were trying to come close. I can’t tell you how wonderful the atmosphere was on the cricket field. Big crowds," he said.
“The next time I went was in 1987 and this time, there was tension between the two governments I saw hostility in India which I had never seen before. Our players were being pelted from the ground and I made them wear helmets while fielding at the boundary. It wasn’t a very good atmosphere on certain grounds."
“When India came to Pakistan in 2005, again the governments were trying to get close. I never thought I would see on a cricket ground what happened. Pakistan lost to India in Pakistan and the crowds cheered the Indian team. Great atmosphere," Imran recalled.
“Right now, playing cricket in this atmosphere with this sort of a government in power, I would imagine it would be a terrible atmosphere on the cricket ground."
“There’s nothing quite like the Ashes for the English. But Pakistan-India series is just in a different league in terms of tension, pressure, and enjoyment."
The former skipper also revealed his preferences within the sport.
“If I have time to watch cricket, I time it to the last 5 overs of the result. If it’s a close game, it’s quite fun to watch,” he said.
“As a connoisseur of cricket, I don’t enjoy T20. I enjoy the improvisation in strokeplay, I look at the T20 games and think why didn’t I try to develop those strokes. But I just love good quality Test cricket, but for that, I don’t have much time," Imran added.
