Pallekele, Sep 1: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden wants India skipper Rohit Sharma to negotiate Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah 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 which bent marginally inwards to beat the opener all ends up.
India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss in the group match and could never bounce back from the defeat in the 2021 edition.
Hayden felt a “conservative” approach against Afridi was the right way to handle the tall Pakistan quick.
“You’ve got to be conservative against Shaheen Afridi. Remember back to the (T20) World Cup (in the UAE in 2021) 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,” Hayden advised the India skipper.
Terming the clash of the arch-rivals as the “spiciest competition” in world cricket, Hayden also said India batters will also have to guard against the extra bounce the likes of Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah could generate.
Use experience against Shaheen and Co.: Rohit
Rohit on Friday said his batters will have to rely on their rich experience to counter Pakistan’s potent pace trio.
“We don’t have Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf in our nets. We practice with the bowlers we have. They are all quality bowlers. We just have to use our experience to play them tomorrow,” Rohit said on the eve of the game when asked about his team’s plans against the highly skilled pace attack.
Rohit did not divulge much on India’s combination for the match against Pakistan but he said the team has all its bases covered for the game.
“Look, all sorts of combinations are available. Looking at how the game was played yesterday (Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka), a bit of swing, bit of spin, we saw everything.
“It is always challenging for the batters. Luckily, we’ve got experience in our batting lineup. I will let that experience come and play accordingly,” he said. (PTI)
