Follow UsShaheen Afridi has been India’s biggest nemesis since running through India’s batting at the T20 World Cup in Dubai two years ago. While that would have enticed the Pakistani management, the fact that Shaheen has been sub-par with the new ball this year causes a big concern. Afridi is averaging 42 in overs 1-10 and has gone wicketless in the powerplay 10/14 times.
However, Babar Azam is not fussed about that as he believes a player of Shaheen’s quality will do well in the big match against India in Ahmedabad.
“First of all, we will miss Naseem Shah a lot. The way he was bowling in the Asia Cup, it was very impressive bowling - and a youngster, the way he was improving day by day, we miss him a lot as a team, as a captain,” Babar said in the press conference ahead of the encounter against India in Ahmedabad.
“As far as Shaheen is concerned, we know he is the best bowler. He is a champion, and he knows, and I believe he is a great bowler and will give a good performance. It doesn't matter if you don't get a wicket in one or two matches - it's not a question mark on you, I don’t think that way, nor does my team. We have full belief on him and he also has full faith in himself that he can do it, and he will.”
With two wins in two games, Pakistan have a stronghold in the tournament already, but there have been many issues that threaten to expose their frailties. Further, this will be their first game outside of Hyderabad since landing in India and getting accustomed to conditions will be the key.
“In Hyderabad, we have played for about one and a half weeks. As far as I have noticed, every city has different behavior and conditions - I noticed that every stadium has different conditions. It's not similar. Some have a better turn; some are more batting-friendly, and some are more bowler-friendly. So, we have planned for each stadium to have different conditions.
“And the conditions of the stadium are different. We have planned accordingly. We get help when you live in a place and study the conditions – how it is in the first ten overs, then after those ten overs it behaves differently – based on that, we make plans on how to play, how we want to execute our plans. We get a lot of help, definitely. We stay in one place and then study the wicket – that helps a lot,” Babar added.
That Babar Azam is perhaps one of the greatest ODI players of all time shouldn’t surprise any, but the Pakistan skipper, who averages 69.3 in ODIs as a skipper, hasn’t had the same level of success against India.
His performance against India is not that good, as he has the lowest average against them among the opponents he has played in ODIs. He is yet to score a fifty-plus score against the archrivals in ODIs - a narrative he would want to change in Ahmedabad.
“My World Cup till right now has not been as it should have been - but hopefully, you will see some difference in the next matches. Against India, we only come face to face in the World Cup. There is a big gap. It's not that because of a bowler or... I say that I sometimes get out because of my mistake. I try to make as few mistakes as possible," Babar said.