Hyderabad, Oct 4 (PTI) The one lakh-plus crowd inside the stadium will act like India’s 12th man in the marquee World Cup clash against Pakistan in Ahmedabad and the 1992 World Cup winner Mushtaq Ahmed wants skipper Babar Azam and his players to simulate that raucous atmosphere ahead of the much-anticipated contest.
A majority of Pakistan players are in India for the first time but Mushtaq is hoping the team would have done its homework to negotiate the varied conditions over the course of the tournament.
The 53-year-old reckons that preparing to play in front of a partisan crowd is important and that is something he did with the England team in 2012 when it won a historic Test series in India.
No other team has managed a series win India since then.
“In modern cricket, the data helps you get to know about the conditions in a particular country. They are playing in India for the first time so mental preparation is important,” one of the finest leg-spinners to have come out of Pakistan told PTI on Wednesday. “I remember in 2012, I was with the England team and we used to have people in the stands making fake noises so that the players get used to the noise come the match day,” he said referring to his time with England as a spin bowling coach.
“The pressure will be there and that is where the management plays a major role. The pitches in India are flatter compared to Sri Lanka and even Pakistan. On Indian pitches, the field positions matter a lot and hope Pakistan team will take correct calls.” He feels the pressure will be more on India in Ahmedabad on October 14.
“Pakistan players will feel the pressure but pressure will be massive on India who did really well in Asia Cup. Pakistan’s quality is that in ICC events, they tend to click well. All the young Indian cricketers play a very aggressive brand of cricket and I am sure it will be a great game,” he said.
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan could do with some rest ===================================== Heading into the tournament-proper against Netherlands on October 6, leg spinner Usama Mir has shown better form than Shadab Khan who was taken to the cleaners by Glenn Maxwell in the second warm-up on Tuesday.
On the contrary, Usama, who is more of a traditional leg-break bowler, impressed in both the warm-up games.
Mushtaq is open to having both Usama and Shadab in the playing eleven but considering the latter’s recent form, he feels it won’t be a bad idea to bench him.
“Two leg-spinners can surely play and they have different qualities. Shadab is quick in the air while Usama likes to give more air. The call should be taken depending on the conditions as left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz is also in the mix.
“At the same time, Shadab is struggling with consistency in his lines of late. If he is benched for a game or two, he will be more motivated to perform for the team,” reckoned Mushtaq.
It remains to be seen if Pakistan will end up benching their vice-captain.
Welcome Ashwin’s inclusion in place of Axar =========================== Being a spinner himself, Mushtaq is looking forward to see how the slow bowlers fare on the flat pitches in India.
“Kuldeep and Jadeja make a lethal combination and use conditions really well. It is great that Ashwin has got the opportunity, one can expect a lot of variations from him. The other spinners I am looking forward to watch are Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid of England, Adam Zampa from Australia and our very own Shadab and Usama,” he added. PTI BS AT AT AT AT
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