NEW DELHI: Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam has opened up about his experience of playing in India during the ODI World Cup and also opened up about his post-match interactions with Virat Kohli.
“Mai India se expect nahi kar raha tha (I was not expecting it from India),” Babar Azam said on Zalmi TV about fans chanting his name in India.
“Mai bilkul nahi expect kar raha tha. Mai first time ja raha tha Indian mujhe wahaan ka koi knowledge nahi tha (I was not expecting it at all. It was my first time in India and I had no knowledge about the country).
“Maine baat ki thi wahaan ke conditions and all lekin jab hum wahaan utre aur jaisa unhone welcome diya wo outstanding tha (I have spoken to people about the playing condition and all but the welcome we’re given at Hyderabad airport was outstanding),” he said.
Babar says the Indian fans absolutely loved the Pakistan cricket team throughout their stay in India in the World Cup.
“Wo ek alag experience tha. Unka pyar tha, logo ne bahut pyar diya humey, bahut appreciate kiya (It was a different experience. It was their love, Indian people gave us so much love, they appreciated our cricket).
“Humare practice matches mey log aaye yaar, pura stadium packed tha. Hyderabad mey pura stadium packed tha (Even in our practice games, people were cheerring for us. The entire stadium in Hyderabad was jam packed,” he said.
Babar says it was a different vibe playing against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“It was a different vibe. The entire stadium was see of blue. You are playing in India you can expect it. But in other venues, we also received expectional support as well,” he said.
When asked about his post-match interactions with Virat Kohli, he said: “I always try and talk to him whenever we play against each other. I always ask him few questions and he helps me with it. Not only him, I also talk a lot to Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, when we play against Australia and New Zealand, respectively. I had a good chat with Virat Kohli, there are things that we talk about that I can’t share here but it was fruitful.”
On Indian food, Babar said: “I loved Hyderabadi biryani and the samsoa chaat as well. It was unique.”
Agencies

Agencies