IND vs PAK 2022: Babar Azam opens up on why he and Rohit Sharma ended up laughing during 'serious' photoshoot

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has revealed that pictures of him and Indian captain Rohit Sharma laughing during the official photoshoot for the T20 World Cup 2022 were supposed to be 'serious' and 'aggressive' images.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will meet in the Super 12 round of the ICC event in a Group 2 clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, October 23.

In the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2022, pictures of Babar and Rohit laughing and having some fun during the official photo session went viral. They became the source of many hilarious memes as well.

As it turns out, the camaraderie that came across wasn’t planned. In a video posted on ICC’s official Instagram handle, Babar explained:

(During the photoshoot), we were taking some headshots with a serious and aggressive face. During such shoots, when one is looking eye to eye at someone else, after a point invariably we break into some laughter. That’s what happened there. It was a nice funny moment.”

The bonding between Indian and Pakistani players was on show during the Asia Cup as well. Cricketers from both nations had a number of friendly off-the-field interactions with each other.

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“We understand and discuss things” - Babar Azam on bonding with Indian players

With India and Pakistan gearing up to take on each other on Sunday at the MCG, Babar opened up on the bonding between players from the two sides.

At a press conference a day ahead of the match, he stated that Pakistan’s off-field relations with Indian players are extremely cordial. The 28-year-old said:

“Off the field, we always meet in a good way. We understand and discuss things, which is what sportsman spirit is all about. It’s not just with India. We have a good bond with other teams as well. These things help us on the field as well. On the field, everyone gives their 100 percent for the country, but off the field, things are very cordial.”

Earlier, commenting on the same, Rohit had said:

"Whenever we meet - we chatted during the Asia Cup as well - we always talk about our families and all. We talk about life, which new car did you buy? And so on. Even the previous generation that played told us that they too discussed the same stuff.”

India and Pakistan last met during the Asia Cup Super 4 clash in Dubai, with the latter emerging winners by five wickets.