DUBAI 24 Aug (Online): Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram has said that Babar Azam\u2019s men believe they can compete with their arch-rivals \u201cday in, day out\u201d after their victory over Virat Kohli\u2019s side at last year\u2019s Twenty20 world Cup.<\/p>\n
Pakistani team set to embark on their Asia Cup campaign on Sunday against India.<\/p>\n
While referring the victory came out in the United Arab Emirates in Pakistan\u2019s opening match of the tournament and ended their long-running jinx of never having won a World Cup tie against their fierce rivals, Wasim believe that the team would ride on the back of that win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pakistan team is on the rise for the past couple of years. They\u2019ve been consistent, and I think the win against India, although that was a year ago during the World Cup, gave them a bit of confidence that they can compete with India day in, day out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The comments emerged during a virtual media session alongside former India head coach Ravi Shastri organised by the six-team tournament\u2019s official broadcaster on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Pakistani team will start training from Wednesday at the ICC Academy with the majority of the squad arriving from the Netherlands on Tuesday morning after winning their ODI series against the Dutch 3-0.<\/p>\n
Four players, including the hard-hitting Asif Ali, have also reached Dubai from Lahore while pacer Mohammad Hasnain, drafted in as a replacement for injured pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, is due to arrive from England on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Wasim wanted Pakistan players to be mindful that their inherent strength, the top order, should not become a weakness.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the start of last year\u2019s T20 World Cup, Pakistan\u2019s top three have scored 67.53% of all runs made by the team in T20Is. This has largely been down to Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I\u2019m worried about is the middle order. There is no experience apart from Iftikhar Ahmed coming in at No. 4, and then you\u2019ll have probably Haider Ali, a young sensation who has not been consistent. Babar Azam and Rizwan are the key as far as the T20 format is concerned\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Further he added \u201cI think in general they are confident, but it depends on how they feel or what sort of mindset they are in when they arrive before the India-Pakistan game because that game can make to break the Asia Cup for either side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The erstwhile bowling great said comparisons between Pakistan captain Babar and Kohli were inevitable, given the kind of impact they have had on their respective teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only natural,\u201d said Wasim. \u201cWhen we played, people compared Inzamam-ul-Haq with Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar. Before that, it was Javed Miandad versus Sunny Gavaskar. Gundappa Viswanath and Zaheer Abbas, so comparison is natural.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabar has been very consistent because he has the right technique. He enjoys his batting, is still very hungry, physically fit, still young and is captain across formats. He is learning and learning very quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as comparisons go, he is on the right track to be where Virat Kohli is. It is a bit too early to compare him to Kohli at this stage. But he is on track to be one of the modern greats.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Ravi Shastri said Kohli, who was removed as India\u2019s captain following the T20 World Cup, has been away from cricket and was rested by the Indian team management for their series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
But he is back for the Asia Cup and Shastri reckons Kohli, who hasn\u2019t managed a century in any format of the game since November 2019, needs just one big innings to get back to form.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to him, but it\u2019s not rocket science. Big players wake up in due course,\u201d said Shastri. \u201cThey need a break; mental fatigue can creep into the best in the world. There is not a single player in world cricket, who has not gone through a bad patch, and I am sure this downtime is not just for the body; it\u2019s time to reflect. He would have reflected on what things he could have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Kohli\u2019s T20 numbers in 2022 have also seen a dip, as his average dropped to 22.2 in 20 matches, he will be hoping to turn things around when he makes his 100th appearance in the T20I format against Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these things come into play and you get an opportunity to then decide what the best course of action is, when you get on to the path again.<\/p>\n
Whether it is shot selection, whether it is how you plan, when you shift gears in a T20 game… all that will have come into play and now it\u2019s to execute those plans with a calmer mind,\u201d Shastri added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gets a fifty in the first game; mouths will be shut for the rest of the tournament. What\u2019s happened in the past is history. His opportunity here is to take the calmness and take it one day at a time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Shastri also said that India needed to keep up their ferociously aggressive batting style in the shortest format after previously being a little \u201ctimid.\u201d India\u2019s early exit from the T20 World Cup last year was a result of their cautious approach at the beginning of the innings and the tournament served as Shastri\u2019s final job as head coach of India.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should not change the approach (they have shown of late). Even when I was a coach we discussed we were a bit timid at the top considering the players we had down the order,\u201d he said. It is the right approach. You will lose a few games in between but if you start winning with this approach you can take that confidence in big games and use the same tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shastri touched on this edition of the Asia Cup as the \u201cstrongest\u201d, stating that the competing teams would be looking to kick off their campaign with a win under their belts in order to gather momentum. He also mentioned that teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka could cause trouble and may force an upset for the tournament favourites.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be the strongest Asia Cup. The difference between the sides has closed, and that would make it interesting. A good start would be important for teams,\u201d he Shastri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI 24 Aug (Online): Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram has said that Babar Azam\u2019s men believe they can compete with their arch-rivals \u201cday in, day out\u201d after their victory over Virat Kohli\u2019s side at last year\u2019s Twenty20 world Cup. Pakistani team set to embark on […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6222],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"yoast_head":"\n