Ajit Agarkar said that going by the current form of both teams, Pakistan is unlikely to pose a threat to India in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
India is set to begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on October 24.
Ajit Agarkar Doesn’t Think Pakistan Will Pose Much Challenge Going By India’s Current Form
Ahead of the mega clash, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, speaking at Star Sports’ ‘Class of 2007’ show, said that going by the current form of both teams, Pakistan is unlikely to pose a threat to India at the showpiece event.
“The stakes are always high when India and Pakistan play together but going by Team India’s current form and taking the stats into consideration, I don’t think Pakistan will pose that much of a challenge,” Agarkar said.
The 43-year-old pacer further added that the Virat Kohli-led side should not make the mistake of taking Pakistan lightly in the shortest format of the game.
“Having said that, I don’t think we should take our neighbours lightly because cricket is a funny game, and things can change at any moment, especially in the T20 format,” Agarkar added.
However, it’s worth noting that the Men in Green are yet to beat their arch-rivals in a World Cup game in 12 encounters across the T20I and 50-over editions.
India and Pakistan faced each other last in the round-robin stage of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where the former won by 89 runs (DLS method). Their last T20 World Cup face-off resulted in India’s 6-wicket win over Men in Green in Kolkata in the 2016 edition.
However, due to the unfortunate political situation, the two teams haven’t played a bilateral series since 2012-13. Pakistan and India’s last bilateral ties at either of the two neighbouring countries were 2 T20Is and 3 ODIs in India way back in 2012.
Ajit Agarkar: Entire Inaugural T20I World Cup 2007 Was A Dream Tour For Eventual Winners India
Ajit Agarkar recalled the 2007 campaign in South Africa where Team India defeated Pakistan in a thrilling final to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.
“The entire tournament (2007 T20 World Cup) was a dream tour for us. We never thought a bunch of youngsters could achieve such a feat, that too against Pakistan. I think the India-Pakistan rivalry always brings a tidal wave of emotions and is one the most anticipated clash in the World Cup,” he concluded.
The Indian team for T20I World Cup 2007 was fairly young, captained by a 26-year-old MS Dhoni. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan had opted out of the tournament. MS Dhoni, who was on the rise, was given the reins of the team, and he created history with a bunch of youngsters. India defeated Pakistan in the final, played in Johannesburg, to claim the inaugural T20 World title.
Expected to lead the bowling attack in the absence of senior fast bowlers, Ajit Agarkar featured in only two matches in the ICC T20 World Cup 2007. His only noteworthy contribution came against Pakistan in the group stages where the Mumbai seamer picked one wicket.
India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007. India got the better of Pakistan twice in that edition including the thriller final match in Johannesburg where they defeated Shoaib Malik and his men by five runs.
India squad for T20 World Cup 2007: MS Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captain), Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Joginder Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, S. Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa