DUBAI: With Pakistan set to embark on their Asia Cup campaign on Sunday against India, legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram says Babar Azam’s men believe they can compete with their arch-rivals “day in, day out” after their victory over Virat Kohli’s side at last year’s Twenty20 World Cup.
That victory in the United Arab Emirates came in Pakistan’s opening match of the tournament and ended their long-running jinx of never having won a World Cup tie against their fierce rivals. And Wasim believes Pakistan would head into the Group ‘A’ match in Dubai riding high on back of that win.
“The Pakistan team is on the rise for the past couple of years. They’ve been consistent, and I think the win against India, although that was a year ago during the World Cup, gave them a bit of confidence that they can compete with India day in, day out,” Wasim said during a virtual media session alongside former India head coach Ravi Shastri organised by the six-team tournament’s official broadcaster on Tuesday.
Pakistan will start training for the match from Wednesday at the ICC Academy with the majority of the squad arriving from the Netherlands on Tuesday morning after winning their ODI series against the Dutch 3-0.
Four players, including the hard-hitting Asif Ali, have also reached Dubai from Lahore while pacer Mohammad Hasnain, drafted in as a replacement for injured pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, is due to arrive from England on Wednesday.
Wasim wanted Pakistan players to be mindful that their inherent strength — the top order — should not become a weakness.
“Since the start of last year’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s top three have scored 67.53% of all runs made by the team in T20Is. This has largely been down to Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman,” he noted.
“The only thing I’m worried about is the middle order. There is no experience apart from Iftikhar Ahmed coming in at No. 4, and then you’ll have probably Haider Ali, a young sensation who has not been consistent. Babar Azam and Rizwan are the key as far as the T20 format is concerned.
“I think in general they are confident, but it depends on how they feel or what sort of mindset they are in when they arrive before the India-Pakistan game because that game can make to break the Asia Cup for either side,” he added.
The erstwhile bowling great said comparisons between Pakistan captain Babar and Kohli were inevitable, given the kind of impact they have had on their respective teams.
“It’s only natural,” said Wasim. “When we played, people compared Inzamam-ul-Haq with Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar. Before that, it was Javed Miandad versus Sunny Gavaskar. Gundappa Viswanath and Zaheer Abbas, so it is[comparison] only natural.
“Babar has been very consistent because he has the right technique. He enjoys his batting, is still very hungry, physically fit, still young and is captain across formats. He is learning and learning very quickly.
“As far as comparisons go, he is on the right track to be where Virat Kohli is. It is a bit too early to compare him to Kohli at this stage. But he is on track to be one of the modern greats.”
