India are far ahead in skill level compared to Pakistan: PCB chief Ramiz Raja makes honest admission

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja has admitted the Indian team remains far ahead in skill level compared to Pakistan. Babar Azam-led Pakistan have managed to outclass their arch-rivals twice in their last three meetings but Raja admitted India are still ahead of Pakistan in terms of quality.

Pakistan defeated India by ten wickets to bring an end to their losing streak against their arch-rivals in World Cup matches last year. The Men in Green had comprehensively defeated India in their opening encounter at the T20 World Cup 2021 to record their first-ever victory against the Men in Blue in a World Cup game.

Pakistan and India then met twice in the Asia Cup 2022earlier this year where both teams managed to bag one win each. Raja said Babar & Co. deserve the credit to have beaten India twice in their last three meetings as defeating the Men in Blue was always considered a mental block for Pakistan.

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“Pehle toh India ke against jo jeete hain ham, bade arsey ke baad hua hai. Iss team ki tareef karni chahiye. Skill ki baat thi, Indians skill level me hamse bahut aage hain, abhi bhi batting me aage hain. Magar ek mental block tha jisko clear karna tha. Aur vo kiya iss team ne ek young captain ke under. (It’s after a long time that we won against India. We should be lauding this team. Indians are far ahead in skill level than us, especially in batting. But it was important to clear that mental block and this team did that under a young captain),” Raja said while speaking on Pakistan channel Samaa TV.

India and Pakistan have not taken part in a bilateral series for nearly a decade now as the two teams only meet in major ICC competitions due to the political tensions between the two countries. India and Pakistan will resume their epic rivalry in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 which gets underway in Australia on October 16.

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India and Pakistan are set to lock horns against each other in a blockbuster clash at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23. Pakistan are currently taking part in a T20I tri-series involving New Zealand and Bangladesh while India are already in Australia to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.