…So this is why Indian batsmen are flopping against Pakistan!

New Delhi. India opener Shubman Gill, who looked uneasy against a trio of Pakistan fast bowlers during his 32-ball 10-run innings in the Asia Cup group stage match, said that having not played much against the country at the international level, it was challenging to face the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. Indian top order batsmen face trouble on Afridi’s incoming ball. “We haven’t played as many matches against Pakistan as we have played against other teams,” Gill said ahead of Sunday’s Super Stage match against Pakistan. We all know that this bowling attack is very good and when you don’t play against such bowling very often, it makes some difference in a big tournament.

Teams from India and Pakistan only face each other in tournaments like World Cup and Asia Cup. Gill said he is looking forward to practicing against Shaheen’s challenge, especially against left-arm throw-down specialist Nuwan Seneviratne. “Definitely (the training has helped),” he said. He (Nuwan) has been with us for the last seven-eight years. It’s good to have variety. We have a right-handed specialist (Raghu), a separate action specialist (Dayananda Garani) and a left-handed specialist. Whatever conditions you play in, it helps.

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Gill said, “Pakistan’s fast bowlers are very different. They have their own specialty. Shaheen swings the ball a lot. Naseem Shah focuses on pace and likes help from the wicket. They present different kinds of challenges in different circumstances. Gill said that unlike the last match we have to dominate in this match. In the group stage match, India lost four wickets for 66 runs.

“As an opening batsman, we need to get off to a good start and dominate it right from the start,” Gill said. Describing his partnership with Rohit as important, he said, “He (Rohit) is that type of player. Bowlers like to play more. Hawa and I like to play ground shots in the power play. That combination works well for us. We can handle shot selection and situations. We take different approaches in terms of doing. This makes it a little harder for the opposing team to stop us.

Despite the good performance of Pakistan’s bowlers in the last match, Gill believes that the team is under no pressure. He said, “This was my first match at the senior level against Pakistan. It was a different kind of pressure. In international cricket whether you play against Afghanistan, Netherlands, Pakistan or any other team, there will always be pressure.

Gill said that he has great respect for Pakistan captain Babar Azam. “You certainly like to follow them,” he said. You have to watch his videos to know why he is doing so well. He is a world class player and we respect him a lot.

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Tags: Asia Cup, India Vs Pakistan, Shubman Gill, Team India