Star Sports removes Shikhar Dhawan’s ‘Don’t lose to Pakistan’ Asia Cup promo

Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan is currently out of reckoning in the national set-up as the likes of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are ahead of him in the race. Therefore, Dhawan will thus be seen in a new role In the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, which is slated to begin on August 30 in Pakistan, as he will be part of Star Sports' expert panel in the tournament.

Shooting a promo for the Asia Cup and upcoming ODI World Cup at home, Dhawan shared a special message for the Rohit Sharma-led side, asking them not to lose to Pakistan in any of the tournaments. The 37-year-old also stated that World Cup is very important but he expects India to win it.

“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," Dhawan said in the video.

However, Star Sports later deleted the portion where Dhawan asked the national team players not to lose to Pakistan. A clarification about the same is not yet made public but it is widely believed that the organisation have probably uploaded the wrong video as it looked like a promo for the World Cup rather than Asia Cup.

Dhawan shares his experience of playing against Pakistan

Speaking about his experience of playing against Pakistan, Dhawan stated that there is always a lot of pressure to perform against the Asian rivals. He added saying that the intensity is often too high but luckily for him, India were on the winning side majority of the times Dhawan was part of the squad. 

“There's definitely excitement 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," Dhawan was quoted as saying by KhelNow.