India vs Pakistan: Battle of India batsmen and Pakistan’s Naseem, Shaheen will determine result: Waqar Younis

Former
Pakistan
pacer
Waqar
Younis
previewed
the
the
India
vs
Pakistan
match
ahead
of
the
big
at
the
‘G’.
Younis
was
excited
to
see
the
battle
between
India’s
batsmen
and
the
Pakistan
bowlers.

Q:
Both
India
and
Pakistan
have
a
good
set
of
openers
—
Rohit
Sharma/KLRahul
and
Babar
Azam
/
Mohammad
Rizwan
—
could
they
be
the
game
changers?

A:
“It’s
(openers)
important
in
T20
format.
It
doesn’t
mean
where
you
are
playing.
It’s
a
fast
game
so
you
need
to
formulate
a
plan
according
to
your
team
combination.
But
in
T20
you
need
a
fiery
start.
If
you
put
50-60
runs
in
the
power
play
then
it’s
easy
for
middle-order
batsman
to
put
the
decent
total
on
the
board.
If
a
team
has
good
bowling
attack,
they
can
thwart
you
your
chances
to
score
runs
in
middle
overs.
Openers
should
consistently
give
big
start
for
their
teams
without
losing
wickets.
They
have
to
work
on
this
if
they
need
to
grab
the
World
Cup
title.”

Q:
The
impact
of
Rohit
Sharma
as
captain
and
batsman..

A:
I
like
him
as
a
leader
and
a
batsman.
In
the
shortest
format,
opener’s
role
is
to
hit
the
ball
and
sometimes
you
play
bad
shots
in
that
attempt.
It
happens
in
international
cricket.
Everyone
wants
to
see
the
big
knock
from
his
willow.
We
don’t
need
to
look
at
the
numbers
in
past.
The
best
part
about
Rohit
is
that,
he’s
never
looked
under
pressure.
Being
a
skipper
he
needs
to
look
each
and
every
aspect.
But
you
definitely
see
him
making
an
impact
in
the
World
Cup.

Q:
Some
big
names
like
Rohit,
Rahul
and
Babar
are
not
getting
big
runs
consistently,
is
that
a
worry
for
the
teams?

A:
“It’s
not
like
that.
Yes,
in
Asia
Cup,
Rohit
Sharma
and
KL
Rahul
were
as
successful
as
the
team
needed.
It
doesn’t
mean
they
are
bad
batsmen.
They
only
need
one
innings
which
they
will
get
eventually.
Rohit
give
you
pick
up
shorts
early
in
the
innings,
and
Rohit
gives
you
good
cover
drives.
It’s
just
a
matter
of
confidence.

Look
at
Virat
Kohli,
he
was
not
in
form
for
a
long
time.
But
he
got
half-century
against
Sri
Lanka
and
century
against
Afghanistan
(in
the
Asia
Cup).
I
think
he
has
got
his
confidence
back.
Same
thing
with
Pakistan
team,
Babar
is
not
getting
runs
concisely
as
Rizwan
is
contributing
major
share.
But
big
batsmen
need
only
one
knock
to
gain
the
form
back.
For
eg:
David
Warner
and
Aaron
Finch
give
them
powerful
start
often.

Their
main
role
to
just
put
70
odd
runs
in
power
play.
In
T20
format
power
hitting
is
must
in
initial
overs.
If
you
get
true
tracks
in
Australia,
these
batsman
can
play
their
shots
with
confidence.
I
am
confident
that
both
India
and
Pakistan
have
powerful
batting
lineup
from
top
to
middle-order
and
they
will
find
the
range.

Q:
Do
you
think
No
3
batsmen
have
as
important
role
in
T20
as
in
other
formats
like
Kohli
or
Zaman?

A:
“It
is
a
Very
crucial
position.
If
you
lose
one
or
two
wickets
in
power
play,
you
need
to
someone
to
stay
on
the
wicket.
You
just
take
a
look
at
every
team,
all
of
them
have
a
prominent
batsman
at
No
3.
India
have
Virat
Kohli
and
Pakistan
have
Fakhar
Zaman
and
so
are
other
teams.

One
of
the
Top
three
players
role
to
take
the
innings
till
end
and
bat
with
lower
middle-order.
It
helps
you
to
place
a
big
total
on
the
board.
We
saw
the
Kushal
Mendis
example
in
Asia
Cup
for
Sri
Lanka.
The
game
requires
an
anchor.

Q:
There
is
a
raging
debate
on
whether
India
should
include
Pant
or
Karthik
in
the
11..what’s
the
way
forward?

A:
“It’s
tough
call.
In
an
ideal
situation
you
can
give
a
chance
to
both
the
players
in
playing
XI.
But
in
this
set
up
only
one
player
can
get
the
chance.
In
recent
past
Dinesh
Kartik
has
done
rally
well.
The
role
team
management
has
given
to
him…he
has
perfectly
defined
that.
India
have
a
luxury
that
they
have
a
choices.
I
really
love
to
watch
Pant’s
batting.
But
he’s
lacking
the
momentum
in
middle
overs.

People
are
saying
that
India
has
to
send
him
on
top
of
the
order
but
it
changes
the
entire
combination.
To
send
Rishabh
after
Suryakumar
Yadav,
I
don’t
think
it
works,
as
he
needs
to
bat
in
top
3.
But
he
is
young
and
will
get
his
chances.

Q:
The
change
in
team
dynamics,
all-rounders
like
Hardik
Pandya
can
bring…

A:
“I
always
felt
he’s
a
utility
player.
It’s
good
for
India
that
he
can
bowl
four
overs
and
take
a
wicket
and
also
played
big
knocks
in
middle
order.
If
team
loose
early
wickets,
he
take
his
time
and
stay
on
the
wickets
and
in
slog
overs
he
plays
the
big
hits.

There
are
other
players
who
can
do
this
job:
England
have
Ben
Stokes
and
Australia
have
Marcus
Stoinis,
who
can
be
the
medium
pace
all-rounder.
Indian
team
is
fortunate
that
they
have
this
kind
of
player
with
them.

Pakistan
is
lacking
on
this
department
after
Azher
Mehmood
and
Abdul
Razaak.
One
more
think
about
Hardik
is
that
I
feel
he
looks
more
calm
now
and
it
must
be
after
leading
Gujarat
Titans.
When
you
need
15
runs
in
an
over
in
slog
overs,
you
can’t
see
pressure
on
his
face.
He
looks
confident
and
he
knows
that
I
can
achieve
the
target.
In
my
opinion,
sooner
or
later
he
will
have
the
capacity
to
lead
the
Indian
team.

Q:
How
do
you
rate
this
Pakistan
team?

A:
Many
of
these
players
are
familiar
with
the
ebb
and
flow
of
the
T20
cricket
through
Pakistan
Super
League
and
other
leagues.
So,
we
have
a
good
bunch
of
players.
Our
middle
order
players
can
change
the
game.
Batsman
like
Khushdil,
Nawaz,
Shadab
&
Asif
Ali
can
change
the
game
in
middle
overs.
But
they
need
to
stay
on
the
wicket.

You
can’t
compare
90’s
Pakistani
team
which
was
dominating
in
world
cricket.
In
the
bowling
department
under
Shaheen
shah
Afridi
entire
unit
is
doing
well.
We
have
a
good
variety
of
players.
We
have
five
quality
pace
bowlers
who
are
in
mid
20’s
and
bowling
with
the
speed
of
140mph.

But
our
surprise
package
is
Naseem
Shah.
On
Australian
pitches
he
will
be
the
dangerous
bowler
for
opponent.
If
these
two
can
give
the
early
break
through
for
us
then
Shadab
&
Nawaz
will
do
rest
of
the
work.
Yeah,
it
will
be
a
battle
between
Shaheen,
Naseem
and
India
batsmen.”