Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis has reckoned that both India and the Men In Green will be under pressure for the highly-anticipated clash in the ODI World Cup on October 14 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan and India, the two arch-rivals, will face-off to prove their supremacy over each other. While the Men In Blue will look to extend their winning streak over them in ODI WC, the Babar Azam-led Pakistan will be in hunt of their first win against India at the marquee event.
In the recently concluded 2023 Asia Cup, India and Pakistan met twice, while the first match was washed out, the second one turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Men In Blue thrashed the Green Brigade convincingly.
Younis felt Pakistan was as a weaker side compared to India and said it would put pressure on them.
“As we all know, it (India vs Pakistan) will be the biggest game, mother of all the games. So, when you play in Ahmedabad, you will have to control your nerves, and not only Pakistan will be under pressure since it is a weaker team as compared to India. But India will also be under pressure because the crowd in the stadium will create pressure on both the teams,” Younis told Star Sports.
Younis also admitted that the hosts are a better side based on their recent team performances.
“However, if we judge purely based on the team’s performance, India definitely will be a better team,” he added.
Commenting on the Pakistan team, Younis called it a miss and hit after pacer Naseem Shah’s absence.
“If I talk about Pakistan, they are a miss and hit this time. The absence of Naseem Shah will be a big disadvantage because Naseem and Shaheen (Afridi) used to complement each other with new ball,” Younis added.
Pakistan WC Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, (wicketkeeper) Mohammad Wasim.