Former Pakistan captain and pace legend Wasim Akram fears India spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy will trouble skipper Salman Ali Agha’s middle-order in Sunday’s Asia Cup blockbuster
India spinners Kuldeep Yadav (left) and Varun Chakaravarthy against UAE in Dubai on Wednesday. Pic/AFP, Getty Images
Pakistan bowling great Wasim Akram believes India spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, will pose a serious threat to the middle-order if skipper Salman Ali Agha’s batters don’t read their deliveries from the hand when the two teams clash in a Group ‘A’ match of the Asia Cup in Dubai
on Sunday.
‘Must read spinners early’
“They [Pakistan’s batters] will see off [India pace spearhead Jasprit] Bumrah, but the spinners India have, like Varun and Kuldeep, I hope they do not trouble them because if you don’t judge their bowling from their hands, whether it’s a back-of-the-hand delivery or the googly, if you try to read it after they’ve pitched it, then it’ll be too late. It means you have no idea what’s happening. So, that’s where my worry is for Pakistan, the middle-order batting against India’s spin bowling,” Akram, 59, said during a media interaction recently.
Wasim Akram
Case for chase
However, the former left-arm pacer, who claimed 502 ODI wickets and 414 Test scalps, felt that the key for Pakistan’s success will be in relaxing and not thinking too much about strategies. “In Dubai, teams have won [more often] while chasing. But chasing against India won’t be easy because of their spin bowling, and of course Bumrah and the other bowlers. So, it all depends on what Pakistan’s strategy is. What sort of bowling attack they want to play. My advice to the Pakistan team would be, ‘have your meetings, but just don’t think about your strategies all the time’. If you go in with that mindset, then obviously you won’t be able to perform. So, have a meeting, talk about the bowlers and then just relax and enjoy the atmosphere. It’ll be a packed house, and the whole country will be watching in numbers,” Akram told mid-day when asked what Pakistan must do in order to topple their arch-rivals.
The last time India and Pakistan met in the T20 format, the Men in Blue won the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage encounter in New York by six runs.
Asia Cup is live on Sony Sports Ten 1, 3 & 5.
How last five Indo-Pak T20Is panned out
June 9, 2024 - New York: India won by 6 runs
Oct 23, 2022 - Melbourne: India won by 4 wickets
Sept 4, 2022 - Dubai: Pakistan won by 5 wickets
Aug 28, 2022 - Dubai: India won by 5 wickets
Oct 24, 2021 - Dubai: Pakistan won by 10 wickets
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