"Whether or not you win the World Cup, don't lose to Pakistan"- Shikhar Dhawan on expectations from India-Pakistan games

Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan opened up on the excitement that players feel ahead of an India-Pakistan encounter. The two teams are set to meet each other in the Asia Cup 2023 on September 2 at Kandy.

Dhawan shed light on the fierce rivalry between the two nations and the burden of expectations that the Men in Blue have from fans, who just don't want them to lose to Pakistan at any cost.

In a video posted by Star Sports ahead of Asia Cup 2023, here's what Shikhar Dhawan had to say about India vs Pakistan matches:

"It has always been the case of 'Whether or not you win the World Cup, don't lose to Pakistan' (laughs). But winning the World Cup is also important and by god's grace hopefully we will. There's definitely excitement (while playing Pakistan) but also a lot of pressure. There's definitely a satisfying feeling playing against them when the match ends. Whenever I have played Pakistan, we have won mostly. The intensity on the field is also high, but there's also some light chat with them."

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Shikhar Dhawan's record against Pakistan

Although he isn't a part of the current Indian team, Shikhar Dhawan has arguably been one of the pillars of their dominance in ODIs over the past decade. The southpaw loves the big occasions and his numbers against Pakistan tell the story.

In seven ODIs against them, Dhawan has scored 380 runs at a fantastic strike rate of 102.42 and a brilliant average of 54.28. He also has a hundred and two half-centuries to his name.

Dhawan's dip in form coincided with Shubman Gill's rise and that saw the youngster cement his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit Sharma. India will hope Gill and Rohit come good in the Asia Cup and the World Cup that follows and scale similar heights of Rohit and Dhawan.