Ashwin strongly responds to PCB chief's 'respect' jibe

‘Respect doesn’t come with wins or losses,’ Ashwin on Ramiz Raja’s statement

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja recently made a strong statement about the cricketing equation between India and Pakistan.

Raja said how the Indian team has started to 'respect' Pakistan as an opponent now while also terming Team India as a ‘billion-dollar side’.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Ahead of India's blockbuster ICC T20 World Cup 2022 campaign opener clash against Pakistan, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said margins are extremely close in the shortest format of the game and both arch-rivals respect each other as teams.

"Until you said that, I didn’t know he made a statement like that. That's one way of dealing with it," Ashwin said in a press conference after India's practice match against Western Australia.

"It is a game of cricket. We do not play them (Pakistan) a lot. This rivalry is big and means a lot to people from both nations. But wins and losses are part of the game. Especially in this format, margins are going be close," the spinner stated.

"To respect an opposition is not something that comes with victories and defeats. It comes in the way you are made. We definitely respect the Pakistani side and so do they," he added.

In the T20 World Cup last year, Pakistan defeated India in a World Cup match for the first time ever. Never before in a World Cup match had Pakistan secured a win over India before that instance in UAE.