Islamabad: Iconic former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan predicted South Asian rivals India and Pakistan would square off in the final of the 50-over ICC Men's Cricket World Cup scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad later this year.
India and Pakistan will square off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15 with over 100,000 cricket fans in attendance. Both nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars with each other while political tensions still remain high between the two countries, breathing fire and fury into their cricket rivalry as well.
In a panel discussion with former Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag, Muralitharan was asked which team that is not part of the subcontinent would do well in India. The former cricketer replied England, adding that they were even playing Test cricket with an attacking approach.
"But I still believe my instinct is that looks like an India-Pakistan final would be a wonderful final," Muralitharan said. "I think because even Pakistan is a good side, they have good spinners, good bowlers, and batters as well. Same as India."
While millions on both sides of the border would anticipate a Pakistan-India clash, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it still requires clearance from its government before confirming whether the green shirts can travel to India for the tournament.
The last time the two sides met was at the gigantic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of over 90,000 fans. India managed to win the hard-fought encounter on the last ball, courtesy of a stellar knock by former India captain Virat Kohli.
Prior to that, Pakistan made history when they beat India for the first time in a World Cup encounter when the green shirts thumped India by 10 wickets in Dubai during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 contest.
