An India-Pakistan clash is box office, regardless of the type of tournament it is set in. The cricketing world was treated to multiple thrilling encounters last year, none more memorable than the T20 World Cup clash at the MCG. Prior to that iconic clash, the two teams faced-off in the Asia Cup which was played in T20 format as a precursor to the showpiece event. With 2023 being the year of the ODI World Cup, the Asia Cup shifts back to its original 50-over format.
At the pre-match press conference, one of the major talking points revolved around the game’s potential sub-plot – Pakistan’s pace attack against India’s batters. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah form a potent trio that have troubled the best of batters across the globe. India was also under severe pressure from them in the T20 World Cup before Virat Kohli orchestrated a heist for the ages.
Shaheen’s potency with the new ball has been particularly in the scanner for India, given their frailties against the new ball in testing conditions. Despite the spate of injuries and uncertainty around the batting unit, India’s captain Rohit Sharma didn’t seem too fussed about the challenge at hand.
“See, we don’t have a Shaheen, Rauf or Naseem to practice against in our net sessions,” said Rohit in jest. “But we are preparing to the best of our abilities with the resources we have. All three are quality bowlers, have been for some time now and have been doing well as a unit. Pakistan have always had quality bowlers, what their strengths are, we know that and we have experienced players, so it’s about using the experience to deal with the challenge.”
Rohit was also effusive in his praise of the Pakistan team who recently became the top-ranked side in ODIs. The achievement came after their 3-0 whitewash victory against Afghanistan earlier this month. Buoyed by their feat, Pakistan started their reign at the top with a historic 238-run win over Nepal to open their Asia Cup campaign. On the other hand, India has been rusty with their white-ball form this year but Rohit sounded quietly confident about his side’s chances.
“Pakistan is a very good team. They’ve done very well in recent times, whether it’s in the T20 World Cup or in the 50-over format. No team becomes the top-ranked team just like that. It takes a lot of hard work and I’m sure that the Pakistan team has worked really hard. They are playing good cricket and it’ll be a good challenge for us to face a team like this.
“We have prepared well for this game. We had some time leading up to this tournament and used it to prepare ourselves. Now we have one day today left to prepare for tomorrow’s game. Hopefully, all the prep and issues that we addressed come out well.”
The main concern regarding India’s batting order has been due to injuries of various kinds. Rishabh Pant was the first to miss out due to a long-term injury followed by injuries to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. While the southpaw is unlikely to return till early 2024, Rahul and Iyer have made it to the squad for the Asia Cup but the wicket-keeper bat is unavailable for the first few games. With an 18-member squad to look at, there are several permutations and combinations for the think tank to look at. It isn’t the ideal situation for a team with a World Cup around the corner but Rohit chose to look at the positive side of things.
“I’d rather have this kind of a headache than no headache (at all). It’s always nice within the team environment to have this kind of competition and so many players being available. I know for a fact that when all these players are fit and available and at their best, it will be a challenging task for us to make a playing XI. I will hope that all these players stay fresh and stay fit for the next two months. Speaking of just the Asia Cup, I hope that we have no injury concerns and that should be a good sign moving forward.”
The India-Pakistan clash on Saturday (September 2) will be held at Pallekele. The venue’s first game of the tourney saw Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in a low-scoring affair. The interesting thing about the game was the nature of the playing surface. There was enough movement on offer with the new ball, particularly under lights and the spinners managed to get grip off the surface too. Rohit revealed that the management had observed the finer details and was ready in terms of their selection plans.
“All sorts of combinations are possible. We saw the game yesterday. There was a bit of swing, bit of spin, bit of everything. That is always going to challenge the batters. Luckily we have got experience in our batting line-up and I will let their experience come in play, and play accordingly. Yes, I did talk about taking the game on but it’s also important to read conditions. It’s not T20 format, it’s 50-over format where you need to apply a but more than T20 cricket and for a bit longer. The whole idea of being aggressive and allowing an individual to play their game is very much there. But we let the individuals to take the decisions when they’re in the middle because a few of them, all of them actually have experience of playing under these conditions.”
The question finally came down to Rohit’s recent form with the bat. For someone of his stature, the Indian captain’s white-ball numbers have stagnated in recent times. There has been a marked improvement in the strike-rate given the intent Rohit has shown in the first Powerplay to ensure India gets off to fast starts. It has also allowed the younger partner in Shubman Gill to ease his way into the innings but all this has come at a cost, and Rohit understands it well.
“I’ve been playing for a while now, so it’s about me using the experience for the team’s good. That’s what I prefer. In the last two years, I’ve played a different style of cricket, I’ve taken a lot more risks and I need to balance risk with the output. As a top-order batter, my role is important and it’s crucial for me to lay down a platform. I’ll try to use my experience to good effect. Will try to ensure that I capitalize on my starts or whenever I get into good rhythm. Important for me to strike that balance.”