Even before the tournament has started, verbal volleys have started flying as per traditions of a heated India Pakistan match that will mark the beginning of the T20 World Cup journey for the continental rivals. On the 24th of October, India will be up against Pakistan in Dubai to begin the T20 World Cup, and Hasan Ali didn’t mince his words about the rivalry.
Pakistan fast bowler, Hasan Ali has expressed confidence that they will be able to beat India in the opener and replicate the success in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final that saw India being hammered by their arch-rivals after a batting collapse.
However, the recent performances by India against Pakistan indicate otherwise, as they were successful in hammering their continental counterparts in all the three encounters that they have faced after that infamous ICC CT final drubbing.
This is what Hasan Ali had to say about India
Going by the antiquity of this famous rivalry in the World Cups, Pakistan is still to register their first victory against India. Hasan was head quoting to media on Wednesday, “When we won the Champions Trophy (in 2017), it was a very good time for us, and we will try to beat them again in the T20 World Cup. We will give our best. Playing against India is always a pressure game because of the expectations of fans from both countries.”
Hasan was also head, quoting that India versus Pakistan is always one of the most talked-about rivalries in cricket. According to him, even if there are fans who are not interested in watching most of the other games will tune in to watch this rivalry at any stage.
Given the spike in the number of viewers and supporters in the respective nations, the pressure becomes excessively high. Despite all the odds stacked against the players, Hasan believes that Pakistan will be squeezing out his best against India.
The seamer also believes that the dry conditions will be highly conducive to the spinners. However, the pacers will also have their say as the game progresses. Hasan also seemed disappointed with the renouncement of Waqar Younis and Misbah-Ul-Haq just ahead of the tournament.
The Pakistani seamer also expressed his opinion on the upcoming New Zealand series
Pakistan appointed former Australian opener, Matthew Hayden as their coach ahead of the biennial extravaganza while Vernon Philander was selected as the bowling consultant of Pakistan.
Hasan believes that they will even face bigger challenges from the Black Caps, as New Zealand will be playing an ODI and a T20 series just ahead of the World Cup.
He also mentioned the fact that he is putting efforts to become an all-rounder as his time in the nets with the bat has considerably increased. He concluded his statement by saying, “I want to be a good all-rounder in all three formats. The presence of someone like Abdul Razzaq who has joined us recently has already been a big help to me. He is teaching me how to do power hitting while keeping a balance at the crease. He has been a quality all-rounder for Pakistan.”
