R Ashwin Responds To Ramiz Raja’s Statement Saying India Has Started To ‘Respect’ Pakistan

Ramiz Raja, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), recently made a forceful comment regarding the cricketing relationship between India and Pakistan. Ramiz emphasised that Pakistan is now being “respected” by the Indian squad as a rival while also referring to Rohit Sharma’s team as a “billion-dollar side.” When India legend Ravichandran Ashwin learned of Ramiz’s remarks, he responded appropriately. In a press conference on Monday from Australia, Ashwin claimed that he had only learned of Ramiz’s remarks.

“Until you said that, I didn’t know he made a statement like that. That’s one way of dealing with it,” Ashwin said while speaking to reporters at Perth.

“But look, it’s a game of cricket. Whatever political tensions and whatever stays between the teams, the rivalry is big, it means a lot to the people from both countries. But at the end of the day, whatever you may say as a cricketer and as someone who is playing the sport, you do understand that wins and losses are part of the game, especially in this format, the margins are going to be so close,” he added.

Ramiz Raja previously discussed how far the men’s national team has advanced in the last few years, to the point where even the powerful Indians have begun to appreciate them, in an interview with Pakistani news site Dawn.

“Pakistan humesha se underdogs rahein hain jab bhi India se muqabla huye hain, but of late, unhone hume respect dena shuru kardiya hain kyunki unke khayal me yeh hain ki Pakistan hume kabhi hara hi nehi sakte. So yehi main kehta hu ki Pakistan ko credit dijiye kyunki ek billion-dollar team cricket industry ko hum harate he (Pakistan have always been underdogs whenever they have played against India. But, of late, they have started to give them respect, knowing that they can be beaten in this contest. This is where Pakistan should get credit as the India is a ‘billion-dollar’ team),” Raja had said.

Pakistan defeated India in a World Cup match for the first time ever during the T20 World Cup last year. Before that World Cup encounter in the UAE, the neighbouring nation had never defeated India, whether it was in a 50-over or T20 format.