Dubai, Sep 13: Former Pakistan stars Shoaib Akhtar and Misbah-ul-Haq engaged in a light-hearted yet insightful discussion on India’s batting strength ahead of Sunday’s much-anticipated Asia Cup clash in Dubai.
Speaking on Pakistan’s OTT platform TapMad, Misbah admitted India’s team looked formidable but stressed Pakistan would have an opening if their bowlers managed early breakthroughs.
“If India lose a couple of early wickets, they don’t have Virat Kohli. Their batting is different. They haven’t played these kinds of bowlers. So Pakistan has that opportunity. You have to create that hole at the start – but that’s the thing, a good start is needed,” he said.
Akhtar, however, playfully interrupted Misbah’s point with a polite tap on the arm and a disclaimer, “Not to counter your argument, please forgive me,” before listing India’s batting options. “Now India have Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Jitesh Sharma… you can’t run through this team,” Akhtar argued, suggesting India’s middle order was perhaps the strongest it had ever been.
Akhtar had also gone further in his praise for India’s approach. “It’s pretty obvious they are going to dominate Pakistan.” (Agencies)
