‘MS Dhoni finished India-Pakistan rivalry, made it one-sided in their favor'- Afridi says India kept Pakistan on the side

Afridi said that MS Dhoni made India change their approach and eye Australia, England as main competition.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has said that under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India completely dominated Pakistan in ICC World Cups and put the Men in Green on the side, while eyeing Australia, England, and South Africa as their main competitors.

His words came ahead of the highly anticipated India v Pakistan clash in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 tournament which will happen on October 23 at the MCG.

India had never lost to Pakistan in ICC World Cups, ODI or T20I until the Babar Azam-led side crushed Virat Kohli and co. last year in T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. Before that India enjoyed a total 12-0 domination in ODI World Cups and T20 World Cups included.

The legendary all-rounder said that under Dhoni’s captaincy, India defeated Pakistan so many times that the contest became a totally one-sided affair.

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According to him, the former wicketkeeper-batter, who led India from 2007 to 2017, had changed the approach of the Indian team during his time, but it is not the case anymore. He said after Dhoni’s retirement from the game, Pakistan has bounced back and fans will see a riveting contest between the two sides once more.

"Agar aap India ke team ko uthake dekhe, pichle kuch arse main, Dhoni ke daur me agar aap dekhe toh unhone aapni approach ko change kardiya. Unhone Pakistan team ko...woh joh Pakistan-India hota tha woh khatam kardiya tha. Kyunki woh continuous jeetein jaa rahein the. Unhone soch badli apne, unhone Australia, England, South Africa...uss level pe unke jo top batsmen the unhone unke saath muqabla karna shuru kardiya tha. Unhone Pakistan ko, sorry to say, side main rakh diya tha. Par aab woh cheez wapas aa rahein hain and of course wapas ayegi. Approach bohot important he to decide aap apne aap ko kis level me rakhna chahatein hain.

(Under Dhoni, India had changed their approach. He had finished the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Because under him, the team would always win. They changed their approach and started seeing Australia, South Africa, and England as their main competitors. They had kept Pakistan on the side. But now things have changed. Pakistan are coming back and are one of the toughest challenges for India)," Afridi was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.

Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India defeated Pakistan in five back-to-back T20 World Cup matches and twice in the ODI World Cup.