Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has stated that neither India nor Pakistan are the 'dream teams' like the Australians were in the 2000s, who could win matches under any circumstances.
His words come as he previewed the India vs. Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2023 which will begin on August 30 and will see the Men in Blue clash with Men in Green on September 2nd in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Both teams will aim to put their best foot forward to prepare for the ODI World Cup, which will be held in October in India.
Butt lauded the Australian team of the 2000s that could win in any situations and stated that both India and Pakistan aren't the dream teams like the Kangaroos were in their prime.
“There's no chance to make experiments now. Neither of these sides are Australia of the 2000s who can do anything under the sun and still win. They would field new players and win the match, they would play old winners and still win. Both sides aren't like that team, and they know it,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
“Their (India and Pakistan) competition is against teams who can be a threat on their days. Australia was miles ahead of any side. Even if they had lost five batters early, they could've still scored 275-300 runs in an innings. It was a dream unit. India and Pakistan aren't dream units," he added.
Butt said that under MS Dhoni, India had a great batting unit, but now they are only dependent on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“India's batting was great under Dhoni. Right now, they have to put up a show; if Rohit or Kohli doesn't score big runs, it becomes hard for them against a good bowling lineup. And Pakistan, on their day, can be a very tough bowling side,” said Salman.
After facing Pakistan on September 2nd, India will clash with Nepal on September 4th, also in Kandy.
