Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and white-ball head coach Mike Hesson have devised a strategy to counter India’s spin threat in their Super Fours fixture at the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Pakistan struggled
against India’s spin bowlers, particularly Kuldeep Yadav, and faced a heavy 7-wicket defeat in the group stage at the same venue last week. Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist spinner, dismantled Pakistan’s batting line-up by taking the wickets of Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Hasan Nawaz, finishing with impressive figures of 3/18. Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy also contributed by taking three more wickets, compounding Pakistan’s woes.
How Pakistan Can Beat India?
To neutralise this threat and avoid another defeat, according to Geo News, Pakistan’s think tank has devised a potential winning plan.
The report states that all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, known for his middle-order firepower, is expected to make a comeback. He was part of the final XI for Pakistan’s campaign opener against Oman and India but was dropped for the match against the UAE. Faheem’s batting performances were modest, scoring 8(4) and 11(14). Alongside Faheem, fast-bowling all-rounder Hussain Talat is likely to make his first appearance in the ongoing Asia Cup. Khushdil Shah, who replaced Faheem against the UAE on Wednesday, is expected to be left out, along with young batter Hasan Nawaz.
In the group-stage match, Pakistan opted to bat first and quickly regretted the decision. Indian bowlers dominated, leaving Pakistan at 64/6. Shaheen Afridi’s late heroics took Pakistan to a modest total of 127/9. In reply, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav led the chase with a composed and flamboyant 47*, guiding India to victory with 25 balls to spare. The fixture was marred by off-field drama when India refused to shake hands with Pakistan, prompting Pakistan to skip the post-match presentation. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) blamed match referee Andy Pycroft for the incident and demanded his immediate removal. The International Cricket Council (ICC) threatened to boycott Pakistan’s must-win fixture against the UAE and cancelled the pre-match press conference. Pakistan players arrived late at the Dubai International Stadium, causing a one-hour delay. Pakistan’s management met Pycroft before the toss and shared a muted video of the meeting, which received heavy backlash. Pakistan continued to cancel pre-match press conferences, including the one on Saturday before their match against India. Despite the off-field drama, Pycroft will remain as the match referee.
Amid the handshake controversy and ongoing friction with Pycroft, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi visited Pakistan’s training session, met with players, and had a lengthy discussion with coach Hesson. Naqvi, who is also the chair of the Asian Cricket Council, interacted with the players at the ICC Academy and had an intense conversation with Hesson, the former New Zealand cricketer. Naqvi appeared animated and emphasised specific points during their discussion.
Pakistan’s likely playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed.
(With inputs from Agencies)
