While admitting that Pakistan can’t run away from the fact that they have been playing in poor form, their batting consultant Mudassar Nazar said, the India-Pakistan match will be even because India hasn’t quite done justice to their “incredible strength” converting them to trophies.
Speaking to RevSportz on the eve of the match, Nazar roped in by Pakistan coach Aquib Javed to bolster their batting, was blunt. “Agar aap India ki strength dekhe, itni zabardast team hai, toh uss hisaab se itni trophies jeete bhi nahi. Major title jeete nai. Haarke chale jaate hai. Ekaadh jeeta hai bas,” he said, adding that he was being told for the 11th time that Pakistan performance was poor, giving India the advantage.
There’s no doubt that Pakistan performance hasn’t been great. And form isn’t good going into the match. And Indian performance has been better. But if you look at India’s strengths and compare it to number of trophies, it isn’t much,” he noted in the RevSportz interview. “They’ve not really won many trophies, they lose and go home. Maybe one odd trophy they’ve won,” he assessed.
Nazar was peeved at being reminded that Pakistan were struggling, but reminded with a chuckle that it was a new game. “Some 10 Indian journalists have told me that Pakistan will lose. What is so new about Pakistan losing? They’ve lost before. These matches are do or die, whoever plays well on the day, wins.”
He calmed down to tell RevSportz, “This will be a fighting match, even match and let’s hope it’s a good match.”
He added that Pakistan couldn’t run away from their wretched form. “I can’t deny our form has been poor. Ranking bejaar hai. We can’t run away from that fact. But this is a different game. So it’s not a foregone conclusion that Pakistan will lose easily to India. But it will be a good match.”
When asked what Pakistan needed to do, he told RevSportz, “Chadhke khelna hoga, itraana nahi hai. Agar koi achha khel raha hai toh khadaa rehna hoga. (Have to step up and play proactive cricket. If someone is playing well, they have to stay long),” he said.
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Nazar admitted that there was a bowling concern for Pakistan. “Major problem for Pakistan bowling is they are not getting reverse swing,” he said. On Shaheen Afridi, he noted, “more than zip, swing is important. I’m sure he’s making adjustments.”
When asked why Babar has been shuffled about from No 3 to opening, Nazar shot back saying, “So what’s wrong? Your best player shouldn’t have a problem. These pitches suit him.”
Nazar was also quoted on indyalive, as saying, “India is a formidable team. Hopefully, Pakistan will play up to its potential and try to reverse these results. If Pakistan raises the bar tomorrow, they can put on a grand show. Conditions are not that different. Playing here against India is a different thing altogether. India has all the bases covered.”
The former batting great said India left arm all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, could be crucial. “They have Jadeja, one of the greatest all-rounders. This surface will suit him in both batting and bowling. There is no denying the fact that India poses a great threat to Pakistan. But whoever handles the pressure better will thrive,” Nazar added.
