It’s bigger than Ashes, it’s border rivalry for fans, says Ashwin

The enormity of the Indo-Pak rivalry is not lost on R Ashwin, who considers it bigger than the Ashes but the Indian off-spinner also feels that players will have to keep their emotions in check during tomorrow’s high-voltage World Twenty20 clash here.

India and Pakistan are heading into the much-anticipated clash with contrasting results. The hosts suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of New Zealand while Pakistan roared into form with a crushing win over Bangladesh.

“This rivalry is huge, it’s hard to say how huge it is. It’s probably bigger than the Ashes,” Ashwin said on the eve of the high-octane clash. “As far as the Indians and Pakistanis go, I don’t think they watch this game as a game of cricket. It’s more of a border rivalry. They want to get one up on each other. 

There’s much more rather than this game taking centerstage. As far as people are concerned, they put their emotions into the game.“For the players, it’s all about keeping their emotions aside and trying to play the best way we can,” he said. Asked about pressure that the players have to face in such a game, Ashwin said they would like to take it easy. 

“We don’t sit together and cram a lot of stuff into each others’ head. That will eventually lead to a lot of confusion. Everybody has different plans. As for me, I plan a lot and that has given me success in the past. “We just take it as easy as possible. As far as the Pakistan game is concerned, we will take it lightly. We are used to playing a lot of India-Pakistan game. Every game that India plays is a pressure game. We are pretty much used to it,” he said.