Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has backed his team to win the game against India on the 4th of June at Birmingham. Razzaq, a veteran of 265 ODI’s, stated that if Pakistan could handle pressure well on the match day, they have the resources it takes to beat India. Pakistan’s ODI form off late hasn’t been up to the mark and despite a series win in the Caribbean, the ODI team was humiliated 4-1 in Australia earlier this year.
The likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam make up for an exciting top order that can set a solid base for the side. Azam especially has been termed as the man to watch out for as the right-hander has been on a record-breaking spree, amassing tons after tons. Against India however, in a high-pressure game, things are bound to be utterly different.
“Pakistan have a good enough team to field against India and although they are missing some power-hitters like Sharjeel Khan and Umar Akmal, Sarfraz’s team can still beat them,” said Razzaq, who seemed optimistic despite Pakistan missing the services of two big hitters of the ball.
“The team has some good batsmen such as Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali, Ahmad Shahzad, Imad Wasim and also Sarfraz who can help Pakistan score decent totals,” he said. “They will have to survive the new ball and the responsibility lies on the shoulder of Azhar to give Pakistan a good start.” “Imad has the required experience and can turn the match in favour of Pakistan,” Razzaq said about the talented all-rounder.
The all-rounder, however, mentioned that ultimately it would boil down to which team handled nerves better on the stage.
“The team has the ability all they need to do is tailor the situation in their favour and react better when they play the pressure match against India,” he said. “The more concentrated they are on the goal of beating India the easier it will be to control their nerves.”