IND vs PAK: “Don't Just Look To Survive Against Shaheen Afridi”- Gautam Gambhir's Advice To India

Updated - 13 Oct 2022, 09:01 PM

Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi
Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi. Credits: Twitter

Indian Cricket Team is all set to take on Pakistan on 23rd October. The Men in Blue would be aware of the T20 World Cup 2021 loss against Pakistan where they were completely outplayed. Since then India has looked like a formidable unit where they are not reliant on any specific player.

India needs to start well otherwise a couple of losses upfront can ruin all the hard work of the team. It would be interesting to see whether India continues their ultra-aggressive approach in the marquee tournament. So far the attacking strategy has been fruitful for the team.

India National Cricket Team
India National Cricket Team Photo Credit:(BCCI)

Gautam Gambhir on Shaheen Afridi

Gautam Gambhir was seen interacting with Star Sports and was asked about Shaheen Afridi. “When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don’t look to survive. Look to score runs from him. Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small. Whether it’s your backlift, whether it’s your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can’t look to survive,” said Gambhir.

 “I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it,” he added.

Gautam Gambhir for LSG. Photo- Twitter
Gautam Gambhir for LSG. Photo- Twitter

“India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi,”  added Gambhir.

Tough Task for India

Facing Shaheen won’t be easy as the pacer can be quite lethal in Australian conditions. At the same time, the angle which he creates can easily rattle any batter. It would be interesting to see how he fares after a long injury lay-off as making a comeback is always tough.

Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav (Image Credits: Getty Images)

India may change their batting lineup and send Suryakumar Yadav at the No.3 position as he can easily thrash the left-arm pacer. Head Coach Rahul Dravid needs to make sure that the team doesn’t panic after losing a couple of wickets.

Also Read: “If BCCI President Is Doing It, You Can’t Expect Other Players Not To Do It” – Gautam Gambhir On Sourav Ganguly Endorsing Fantasy Leagues

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Gautam Gambhir ICC T20 World Cup 2022 India National Cricket Team India vs Pakistan 2022 Pakistan national cricket team Shaheen Afridi