All teams should play at both venues, says Sarfraz

Dubai - India will not travel to Abu Dhabi with all their fixtures scheduled at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has said that it should be even for all the teams and all teams should play their Asia Cup matches at both venues - Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Others teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have played or will play at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi but India will not travel to the UAE capital, with all their fixtures scheduled at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India, who are in Group A along with Pakistan and Hong Kong will remain as qualifier 1 even if they lose to Pakistan on Wednesday.

It means that India will play even their Super Four fixture here in Dubai as Pakistan make the 150-km road trip to Abu Dhabi.

"As you said, even if India lose, they will play all their matches here. Travelling is an issue because if you are travelling for one and a half hours between matches, it is a bit difficult," Sarfraz said at the ICC Cricket Academy on Tuesday.

"And if you are travelling in such weather and you have to play a game the next day, I think it should be even for all the teams, whether they are India or Pakistan. If there are matches in Abu Dhabi, all the teams should play one or two matches there. But I don't know what the ACC has done about this. I haven't spoken to the ACC about it but such matters are handled by the PCB," he added.

Talking of being even and equal, Sarfraz felt that Pakistan do not hold the advantage despite playing all their home tours here.

"You could say it's Pakistan's home ground but the conditions here are even for all the teams. The weather is similar to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and the pitches too are playing the same, slow. So, it isn't a home ground for any team. It is equal for all," he said.

The blockbuster fixture on Wednesday will be their first meeting since Pakistan beat India in the ICC Champions Trophy final in England last year.

But Sarfraz said Pakistan don't hold the edge and added that, that match is now a nice memory.

"Like I said before, that is the past, that is history. Obviously, that match was quite memorable for us and it will stay in our memories forever. And the players who played in that match, will remember it for the rest of their career. But this is a new event, the atmosphere and the conditions are quite different. So, we will try to carry that momentum from the first game (against Hong Kong) into the match against India," said Sarfraz.

Sarfraz admitted there would be pressure but he revealed that he told his players to treat every match as an India-Pakistan game. "An India-Pakistan encounter always carries pressure. We have told our players that think of every match as an India-Pakistan game if we are to win this event," he said.

james@@khaleejtimes.com

• Asia Cup 2019