It's been a decade since Team India last won an ICC tournament. After MS Dhoni led the side to a Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, India have lost as many as four ICC event finals and bowed out in the semi-finals on numerous occasions.
While Virat Kohli took the team to great heights in Test cricket, he failed to clinch an ICC trophy. The same has been the case with current skipper Rohit Sharma, under whom the team lost the T20 World Cup semi-final to England last year and also suffered a crushing 209-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the WTC 2023 final at The Oval.
Despite the success in bilateral series, the search for the elusive ICC title goes on and many believe that India will end the drought by winning the ODI World Cup at home later this year.
While playing at home is a benefit India would have, Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram has warned them to be prepared for pressure.
India’s highly-anticipated clash against Pakistan is scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15.
Akram feels the Men in Blue have the firepower in their bowling line-up to match Pakistan's pace battery but he highlighted the cons that come with being the host nation.
"Of course… India have Mohammad Shami, who is very impressive and is bowling like a dream, but Bumrah needs to remain fit. I don't know what his situation is in terms of fitness but if he is fine, it will make a huge different. Besides, they have really good spinners and all-rounders – Jadeja, Ashwin – let's see who plays. There have been some really good players coming from India but there are certain disadvantages of home ground. In 2011, India won but there is always an extra added pressure. Same with Pakistan. If they were the hosts, the pressure would be on them. Vice-versa," Wasim Akram said on Radio Haanji.
Besides Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata are the other four venues where Pakistan’s World Cup games have been allocated.
Earlier, it was reported that PCB was not happy with the schedule draft and demanded that a couple of venues be changed. Even today, Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup is not certain and a revised schedule is awaited.
For Wasim Akram, however, venues should be the least of their concerns.
"See, I said this earlier as well. If I am asked to play on a certain date and at a certain venue, I have to play. Be it Ahmedabad, or Chennai, or Kolkata, or Mumbai… this does not affect players. So just play and don't worry about it," Akram remarked.
