IND vs PAK: "Please finish Rizwan and Babar" - S Sreesanth advises India not to open bowling with Arshdeep Singh vs Pakistan

Former fast-bowler S Sreesanth has issued a warning to Team India ahead of their mega clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup got underway on Sunday (June 2) with the game between co-hosts USA and Canada. On the other hand, Team India and Pakistan are scheduled to face each other on June 9 in New York. It will be the first meeting between the two teams this year. They last played against each other in the ODI World Cup last year when India thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets in the league stage.

India will start the game against the Men in Green as favourites but S Sreesanth has fired a timely reminder to them. The T20 World Cup winner has warned Team India that they could find themselves in trouble if they fail to take the wickets of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan during the powerplay.

S Sreesanth's advice for Team India:

Speaking on Star Sports, S Sreesanth said that he would like to see Jasprit Bumrah open the bowling for Team India in order to negate the threat of Babar and Rizwan. The former cricketer said that although Arshdeep Singh could trouble the Pakistan stars as he did in the 2022 T20 World Cup, he would prefer the more experienced Bumrah to start the proceedings with the ball.

"It will be worth seeing who is putting the new ball. If Arshdeep bowl the first over who made him struggle, We have seen their weakness before.

"When they start attacking, if they don't stop the runs, they will knock out a lot of bowlers. I think if we don't get the wickets in the powerplay, the match between Pakistan and India will be very tough. I think on 9th June, India needs to pick a wicket in the first over," said Sreesanth.

"I want Bumrah to come first and bowl the first over. We have heard that who will take the new ball, but I think if you are watching Bumrah, please finish Rizwan and Babar first" added Sreesanth.

Meanwhile, Team India will open their campaign in the T20 World Cup on Wednesday (June 5) against Ireland. On the other hand, Pakistan will be facing the USA on June 6 in their first game of the competition.