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World Cup: Pakistan have world-class players, they can beat India this time, says Waqar

Waqar Younis says players like Shaheen Afridi are unlikely to be intimidated by the atmosphere in the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium

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Shaheen Shah Afridi (right) produced a magical spell to help Pakistan beat India in the 2021 T20 World Cup. — Twitter

By Team KT

Published: Mon 7 Aug 2023, 12:48 AM

Pakistan have lost all seven of their matches to arch-rivals India in 50 overs World Cups.

But that could change when the two teams lock horns in the 2023 World Cup clash in Ahmedabad, according to Waqar Younis.

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The legendary Pakistani fast bowler believes the current Pakistan team is very strong mentally.

Waqar says Babar Azam's team of world-class white-ball players is unlikely to be intimidated by the atmosphere in the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

"In our times, the pressure wasn't that of a big concern as what it seems right now. The lesser you play against a team, that too against a big team - so whenever you'll play them, especially if it is Pakistan and India, the pressure would be immense and tripled," Waqar told Cricket Pakistan.

Waqar is confident that Pakistan would earn their first-ever World Cup win over India when the two teams clash on October 15.

"Pressure is always high, but maybe in our times, it was comparatively lesser because we used to play lots of cricket in my early days. But then again, in World Cup, we used to choke against India. Nonetheless, as I said, players these days are handling the pressure definitely better. These match-winners, which I mentioned earlier, they'll win us the game," he said.

"Pakistan team have handled pressure in a better way in the recent past. In my opinion, it doesn't matter wherever you play, irrespective of whether in India or Pakistan, if you have your process in check and are executing your skills and plans sufficiently well, so I don't think we have any issue."

Waqar is banking on skipper Babar, pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi and aggressive left-handed batsmen Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq to deliver against Rohit Sharma's team in the blockbuster clash.

"We have match-winners, we have individuals that can win you matches single-handedly, including Babar himself, Shaheen - Fakhar can do wonders, then, of course, we have seen Imam playing great innings," he said.

"So all-in-all, Pakistan has all the resources definitely, now it's just the matter of putting things together and handling pressure."

The World Cup will get underway in India on October 5.

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Team KT

Published: Mon 7 Aug 2023, 12:48 AM

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