A seasoned leader like Rohit Sharma understands the “terrain” of an Indo-Pak contest better than most, but Babar Azam’s unit won’t be mere pushovers as they have managed to narrow the gap with the arch-rivals in the past few years, said former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
India and Pakistan will be meeting in an ODI after four years when they face off in the Asia Cup on Saturday.
“I would say India start as favourites. This is their strongest team since 2011, this mix of players. And a captain who is seasoned, who understands the terrain better than most,” Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.
“Having said that, Pakistan have narrowed the gap. Seven-eight years (ago), there was a gap if you looked at the strength of both teams and man-to-man. But Pakistan have narrowed it down. They are a very good side, so you have to be on top of your game.”
While Indian teams during the last two decades have dominated the proceedings against the cross-border nation, Shastri wants players not to over-hype the game in their minds.
“That’s what’s important, keeping calm and treating it as just another game and not over-hype it in your mind... that makes you think differently. Your game has to be the same as it would be in any other game. But because of that subconscious pressure, it’s the mentally tough guys who normally get it right,” he said.
Virat Kohli showed time and again how he lifts his game against Pakistan and Shastri feels that even if mentally tough guys go through a lean patch during the season, some of them find that competitive juice at the right time on the biggest of stages.
“And never go by form before an India-Pakistan game, because the tough-minded, mentally strong guys might not have done much six months back, but come the India-Pakistan game, they will come (to the fore).
“They know the importance of that game, they know where it can catapult them if they do well. Their juices will be fired up,” Shastri said.
Shastri also praised Babar Azam’s conversion rate in ODIs as the Pakistan skipper has an astounding 19 hundreds from 104 games.
Hayden’s warning
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden wants Rohit Sharma to negotiate Shaheen Afridi’s first three overs with “caution” to avoid a fate similar to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Rohit was dismissed for a first-ball duck by a searing Afridi yorker as India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat.
“You’ve got to be conservative against Shaheen Afridi. Remember back to the (T20) World Cup more recently. Shaheen was able to take early wickets,” Hayden told Star Sports.
“We’ll never forget that ball that he bowled to Rohit Sharma, so a little bit of caution against Shaheen Afridi. If it’s swinging, look to play out those first three overs.”
