New Zealand recently defeated Pakistan in the ODI series while they are currently losing to India.
However, the Kiwis are facing a tough time in India as they have suffered back-to-back defeats to concede an unassailable 2-0 lead to the hosts.
While the BlackCaps put up some fight in their 12-run loss in the series opener, they were totally outplayed in the second ODI and lost the game by eight wickets.
Commenting on the contrasting performances of the Asian teams against New Zealand, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to stick with Babar Azam as the all-format captain.
"India have made it clear that Hardik Pandya will look after the T20I team as they move in a new direction without Rohit and Kohli. But here we are sticking to Babar Azam across formats and not changing our teams at all. This is because the players are afraid to get dropped. Once the fear creeps in, the team starts getting on the decline. You will need to take tough calls if you want to make a competitive team," Kaneria said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
According to Kaneria, India became a 'good fielding side' under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. He suggested the Pakistan cricket team to endorse Dhoni's leadership style and avoid 'shielding senior players'.
“MS Dhoni had a young team in the T20 World Cup and he won with a good fielding side. He has made it clear later that instead of seniors, he wanted players who may score just 15-20 with bat but also stop 15-20 runs in the field. This is the thinking that you need, but we don't learn. We are going backward and shielding our senior players,” he opined.
Hailing the Men in Blue for their clinical performance in the second ODI against New Zealand, Kaneria said: "India played fearless cricket and batters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan backed their natural game with just 109 to get. They finished the game in 20 overs, not like us who would have stretched the game in a bid to make just personal runs. You need to put opposition under pressure and that's exactly what India did."
The third and final ODI between India and New Zealand will be held in Indore on Tuesday (January 24).