Former Australia batter Matthew Hayden, who has joined the Pakistan team as a batting consultant, said that leadership will play a key role ahead of the high voltage India v Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2021.
The two Asian rivals will face-off on October 24 in Dubai and verbal volleys from both sides have taken center stage as the Super 12s stage of the tournament is slated to begin from Oct 23rd onwards.
Terming the match a real dogfight, Hayden who is working with the Pakistan team as a batting consultant, the margin for error will be very little in the big match so leadership will be the key to the outcome of the match.
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Hayden cited examples of MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan, who led their respective IPL franchises with success when their own individual performances were not at expected levels.
"Their individual performances were not as good as they have previously done as per their statistical records but the way they led their troops and conducted themselves played an important part in their teams reaching the IPL final in UAE conditions.
"I feel leadership will be key in the coming match as conditions in UAE leave very little margin for error and there are dogfight conditions out there,” Hayden was quoted by PTI.
He added: "There will be additional pressure on him as captain and batsman because he will be targeted and everyone will be wanting to like they say, put him in their pocket. Babar has command and presence and he needs to fulfill that role in a batting sense and captain."
Hayden who played 103 Tests, 161 ODIs, and 9 T20Is for Australia from 1994-2008 lauded the Indian duo of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant and called them the biggest threat to Pakistan.
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"More or less I have watched KL Rahul grow and he is a major threat to Pakistan. I have watched him grow up as a boy. I have seen his struggles and his dominance in shorter formats. I have seen someone like Rishabh Pant, his brash nature and beautiful vision for the game, how he has destroyed bowling attacks because he has got the opportunity because he sees it that way,” Hayden said.
On the other hand, Hayden called the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan as assets for the Pakistani side ahead of the match against India.
Hayden also commented on his short-term role with the Pakistan side and said: "I have learnt for whatever reason you are always under pressure, you don't need to create additional pressure to what the game demands."
(PTI inputs)
