LAHORE: It would be an understatement to suggest that the relations between the two neighbouring countries are at their lowest ebb. With a high-profile case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav dominating the headlines of both the countries’ newspapers and skirmishes across the Line of Control (LoC) becoming a daily reality, there’s clearly no love lost between the two cricketing mad nations. On top of that, raging nationalism has become the new norm for both the countries and it’s fair to say any interactions between people of the two nations is likely to be tinged by the charged atmosphere that provides the backdrop.
On Monday, Indian Sports Minister Vijay Goel added more fuel to the fire when he told reporters that India would not play Pakistan in a bilateral series, while cross-border “terror from Pakistan remains.”
Off the field, the build-up to what is beyond a doubt cricket’s most anticipated fixture has been dominated by reports of a falling out between Indian captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble.
Kumble’s contract expires after the end of the Champions Trophy but many have questioned the wisdom of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision to advertise his job a week before the one-day international tournament starts.
The current Pakistan lineup is among the most anonymous to play a big match in a major event. From the glory days of Imran Khan to Wasim Akram to Inzamam-ul-Haq to Shahid Afridi and, more recently, Misbahul-Haq and Younis Khan, Pakistan has always been a team that boasted big names and proven match winners. Now, fans gathered around the team practice at the nets in Birmingham could barely name the team without referring to their smartphones.
India, on the other hand, have enough names that are popular even in Nepal.
Virat Kohli is at the height of his fame, and ex-cricketers all over the world regard him as one of the best players in the world at the moment. Yuvraj Singh—though not in the same category as Kohli—was literally mobbed by passionate fans when he walked out of a practice session at Edgbaston. R Ashwin is at the top of his game after a stellar home season.
The India captain leads a strong batting line-up, with former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, in a column, writing: “While Kohli is the backbone, India possesses considerable firepower around him. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are all match-winners.”
Afridi also noted the “balance” in a bowling attack which is set to include seamers by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami as well as the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. In an interesting scenario, India are in the odd position of having a fast bowling attack that can match Pakistan for pace, swing, variation and consistency. Though Mohammed Amir is hands down a superior bowler, Mohammad Shami has also proven to be very consistent for India. If Wahab Riaz can crank up the pace, he will be matched by Umesh Yadav. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a riveting IPL season where he took 26 wickets and received the Purple Cap.
Pakistan have fallen behind Bangladesh in terms of being in touch with modern limited-overs cricket as well as the rankings. Pakistan’s Test cricket has remained steady over the years, but limited-overs cricket is where the team has consistently failed to perform. Other than the PSL, Pakistani players don’t get too many contracts in other leagues; hence, they are not always well-versed in latest tactics, which keep on changing in modern limited-overs cricket. Once the pioneers of swing and spin, Pakistan have been left behind. Pakistan have beaten India only four times in their last 15 attempts and will be needing every bit of energy, nous, and temperament to beat their neighbours.
“We have nothing to lose, we just want to play our natural game,” Sarfraz said last week. “We are very hopeful of playing well in this tournament and we want to win it.”
He also said, “If you perform in an India-Pakistan match, you become a hero.”
Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar had a word of advice for the team: “Pakistan team doesn’t have to go out there with a defensive mindset. They need to keep rotating the strike and go for a better total and mind you, there is no pressure. It’s just like any other game,” he said.
India have never lost a 50-over World Cup or Twenty20 showdown against Pakistan, and a win today would put them in good stead in a tough group also including Sri Lanka and South Africa.
But Pakistan have won two of their three Champions Trophy showdowns against India.
Pakistan skipper said Saturday the team has prepared a plan to overpower India’s batting line but didn’t give media any clue of what has been planned by the team.
“We have our plans in place, we will go with the best and do some out of box things which you haven’t seen us doing against India in the past,” he said.
Pakistan would certainly be needing something ‘out of the box’ to outfox India.