Babar to his team, keep eyes on the ball not the packed Narendra Modi Stadium

Ahmedabad: Ahead of the much-awaited ICC World Cup encounter, Pakistani captain Babar Azam was a quite relaxed man. When he arrived for the press conference at the media centre of the Narendra Modi Stadium, "pressure" was the keyword used in most of the questions he was asked. He smiled and revealed that as a captain, he and his team were ready to face the Indian team and 132,000 spectators on Saturday. Calmness and keeping eyes on the ball were only going to be the mantras in this much-awaited match.

"It's a big game, a Pakistan-India match. How do I handle it? Keep yourself calm. Keep your eyes on the ball." Babar said. "Keep your eyes on the ball when you are on the field. When you are batting, keep your eyes on the ball. That's it. Don't think too much. Just keep yourself focused. Look at the ball and the batting time."

It is going to be the match of their lives for the visiting team, as besides facing tournaments, one of the best teams will also have to handle a huge, noisy gathering.

"To be honest, yes, the India-Pakistan match is a big game; it is a high-intensity game." Said Babar.  "I've just told them to give us the best opportunity—give us whatever best you have, which you have been doing." That's our belief as players and teams—we will execute our plans. And the main thing is to execute our plans. And believe in us: Ahmedabad is a big stadium, and a lot of fans are coming. So, this is a golden opportunity for us to perform well in front of the fans and become heroes."

Just before an important match

First of all, we will miss Naseem Shah a lot. The way he was bowling in the Asia Cup was very impressive, and as a youngster, the way he was improving day by day, we miss him a lot as a team and as a captain.

As far as Shaheen Shah Afridi is concerned, we know he is the best bowler. He is a champion, and he knows, and I believe he is a great bowler, and he will give a good performance. It doesn't matter if you don't get a wicket in one or two matches; it's not a question mark on you. I don't think that way, nor does my team. We have full belief in him, and he also has full faith in himself that he can do it, and he will."

For unknown reasons, the Indian government decided to give visas to Pakistani fans. Here, Babar was a little disappointed.

"Many Pakistani cricket fans will not be in the audience; their visas have not come through. "You will be playing for predominantly, overwhelmingly Indian cricket fans in Ahmedabad," he said. "How are you and your players dealing with that kind of pressure?" And how do you think that's going to impact your game?