World Cup: Pakistan Team must weather Ahmedabad pressure, India better team on merit - Waqar Younis

India and Pakistan will face off at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14 in the World Cup 2023. As the world would be watching another chapter in cricket's greatest rivalry unfolding, players from both teams would be under pressure to deliver on the D-day. Former Pakistan captain and legend Waqar Younis feels for the Pakistani side to overturn the records, they must weather Ahmedabad's crowd pressure, with more than 100,000 cheering for the Indian Team.

Speaking to Star Sports, Waqar said controlling the nerves would mean everything, rather crucial for Pakistan as they are the weaker team than India in their conditions.

These remarks have, however, come on the back of India's star performance against the arch-rivals in the Asia Cup 2023, where India not only beat Pakistan in a one-sided rain-hit clash in Colombo but also won the trophy for the record eighth time.

"As we all know, it (India vs Pakistan) will be the biggest game, mother of all the games. So, when you play in Ahmedabad, you will have to control your nerves, and not only Pakistan will be under pressure since it is a weaker team as compared to India."

"But India will also be under pressure because the crowd in the stadium will create pressure on both the teams," Waqar Younis told Star Sports.

Shedding light on the impact it would have on Pakistan's bowling lineup with NaseemShah unavailable for the tournament, Waqar noted that India is a better team on merit and holds an advantage over Pakistan in the high-octane clash.

"However, if we judge purely based on the team's performance, India definitely will be a better team," he added.

"If I talk about Pakistan, they are a miss and hit this time. The absence of Naseem Shah will be a big disadvantage because Naseem and Shaheen (Afridi) used to complement each other with new ball," the former seamer added.

Bench strength keeps India ahead of all

Noting what makes the host team - India, a potent side to beat in this World Cup, Waqar said the strong bench strength keeps them ahead of everyone.

"If we only talk about ticking the boxes, then we will see no other team can match India right now because they have good spinners who are playing right now in the starting XI, such as Kuldeep and Jadeja. But they also have strong bench strength," Waqar added.

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