Pakistan's Kamran Akmal recalls past spat with Gautam Gambhir ahead of India vs Pakistan match

Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal shared his thoughts on the upcoming India vs Pakistan fixture in an interview with Telecom Asia Sport. He acknowledged the tense times between the two countries but said the match could help improve relations.

"These are tough times in India-Pakistan relations. It will be tense, and that is why there are fears. But I think it will get better only if the game goes well," Akmal said. He also urged fans to behave responsibly in the stadium. "Fans should show a big heart and come together to enjoy the full match. It should be an atmosphere like in the past. I request fans not to cross the line, whether they are from Pakistan or India. They must make the match successful so that Indo-Pak matches continue," he added.

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Akmal stressed that aggression is part of the India-Pakistan rivalry but players must keep it under control. "Aggression is the beauty of an India-Pakistan match. How to take that aggression is the key. Respect should be there. Players will have to remember cricket is a gentleman’s game. If they keep that in mind, I am sure Sunday’s match will go untroubled," he said. He cited an example from last year in Oman where Sufiyan Muqeem and Abhishek Sharma had a verbal clash during an ‘A’ team match. "Aggression will always be there, but it should be controlled," Akmal explained.

Looking back at his own career, Akmal recalled a misunderstanding during the 2010 Asia Cup with India’s current head coach Gautam Gambhir. "It was a misunderstanding. Gautam is a very good person. We had toured Kenya together for an ‘A’ team event and became good friends. In that Asia Cup match, I appealed when he missed a shot. He was talking to himself about the miss, but I thought he said something to me. That’s how the misunderstanding happened," he said. Pakistan will open their Asia Cup campaign on Friday against Oman. India began their tournament with a win over UAE. The fixture has drawn some criticism in India, with some citizens questioning whether the national team should face Pakistan. According to Indian government policy, India can play Pakistan in multinational tournaments but not in bilateral series.