NEW DELHI: When former cricketer Atul Wassan announced that he wants Pakistan to defeat India in Sunday’s Champions Trophy match in Dubai, it caught everyone off guard.
Pakistan will take on fierce opponents India in the duel of the heavyweights in an attempt to maintain their championship defense. After losing to New Zealand by 60 runs in the opening match of the competition, Pakistan ended up in this situation.
The Men in Green would require a lot of different combinations to work in their favor and sustain their campaign if they lose against India on Sunday. Wassan thinks that if Pakistan wins the crucial match, the competition will become much more thrilling.
“I want Pakistan to win because it will be fun, tournament-wise. If you don’t let Pakistan win, then what will you do? If Pakistan wins, then it becomes a contest. There should be an equal fight,” Wassan told ANI.
Wassan praised India’s batting depth in the starting line-up while analyzing their team for the current Champions Trophy. He believed that India was the greatest squad and supported their plan to launch a spin-heavy attack in Dubai given the circumstances.
“You have a lot of good batters: Shubman (Gill), Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli). You are batting until number eight in Axar Patel. Rohit has picked five spinners, and this team is best for Dubai. Have faith in what you have and move ahead,” he added.
India glided to a facile six-wicket victory against Bangladesh to open their account, while Pakistan started the campaign on a losing note.
However, Wassan voiced his displeasure at Rishabh Pant’s exclusion from India’s starting XI in favor of KL Rahul. Wassan believes that Pant makes the opposition uneasy, something Rahul cannot do.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference for Rahul over Pant did not impress Wassan. He claims that the “mercurial” player has been let down by the Indian management, which could have long-term consequences for him.
“Gautam Gambhir is picking his own team. I am just very upset that Rishabh Pant is not playing. I don’t know why. He’s a mercurial player who makes the other team nervous. They feel that he will single-handedly win the match. KL Rahul is a very good player but does not attract such fear from the opposition. You let Rishabh Pant down. If you let a good player enter this situation that he won’t play, the hero in him becomes zero,” Wassan said.
