(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The big-ticket clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is rapidly approaching and is all set to take place in front of more than one lakh people in Ahmedabad on the 14th of October in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Former cricketing greats have already started picking their top four semi-finalists for the tournament.
Pakistan legendary pacer Waqar Younis has given his verdict on the India versus Pakistan match, saying that the hosts are a much superior team.
“As we all know, it (India vs Pakistan) will be the biggest game, mother of all the games. So, when you play in Ahmedabad, you will have to control your nerves, and not only Pakistan will be under pressure since it is a weaker team as compared to India,” said Waqar on Star Sports.
“But India will also be under pressure because the crowd in the stadium will create pressure on both the teams. However, if we judge purely based on the team’s performance, India definitely will be a better team,” he added.
Furthermore, Younis believed that Pakistan faced a big setback with the injury of Naseem Shah, who hurt his shoulder in the Asia Cup 2023 and got ruled out of the World Cup as well. He emphasized that both Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi used to pair up effectively with the new ball, and with the former now out of the squad, it won’t be easy for Pakistan in the marquee event.
“The absence of Naseem Shah will be a big disadvantage because Naseem and Shaheen (Afridi) used to complement each other with new ball. Though Hasan Ali has been declared as his replacement; he has got a lot of experience and gave brilliant performances in the past, but I feel, to suddenly come and perform on this kind of big stage will not be an easy task for him,” he concluded.
Before the Indo-Pak clash on the 14th of October, Babar Azam and Co. have to play two World Cup warm-up games with the Netherlands and Sri Lanka on the 6th and 10th of October respectively in Hyderabad.