Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has advised the Indian team’s starting duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill to take on the Pakistani bowling attack instead of just looking to survive the early onslaught in their upcoming Asia Cup 2023 match on September 2.
The two sides will clash in an ODI for the first time since the 2019 World Cup and Pakistan already have started the tournament with a dominating win over Nepal in Multan.
Indian team has the luxury of being at full strength for the first time after many months, barring KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah are back from injuries, who are crucial to India’s combination.
The exciting aspect of the upcoming clash at the Pallekele stadium will be the match-up between left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and the Indian top-order.
The Pakistan pacer has posed a significant threat to the Indian batters in the past couple of years and the scenario will be no different on Saturday. The star-studded Indian batting line-up will be tested against Pakistan’s formidable pace attack.
Gambhir urged Rohit and Gill to adopt a positive approach, instead of being conservative.
“Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, your approach has to be clear against Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. Look at scoring runs, not surviving. When you score runs, you are in better rhythm and have better backlift and footwork,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ Game Plan.
“Often, people talk about Shaheen and Naseem troubling the Indian batters in the World Cup. But it’s all in the past now. ODI is a different format, batters have time to settle into the crease. It’s important to bat in positions where if you get a half-volley, you look to hit it, not just survive. The more positive you are, the more you create pressure. Keep it simple, the past is in the past. It’s a new day, a new match, a different format. Be in attacking mode,” he added.
