In cricket, there is no clash bigger than India vs Pakistan. No contest that draws more eyeballs, none that generates more buzz and none that invoke stauncher emotions. So on the eve of Pakistan's opening encounter of the Asia Cup against Oman, it was only natural that the prevailing discourse was not about their upcoming game but about the one that follows. In fact, so much was clear when Pakistan's Head Coach, Mike Hesson, addressed the media ahead of Pakistan's first game.
While there's no denying that India, the current world champions and the No.1 ranked T20I side, are favourites, Hesson acknowledged the challenge ahead and said his team were up for it. "We know that India are obviously hugely confident, and rightfully so, in terms of how well they've played. We're very much focused on improving as a team, sort of day by day, and not getting too far ahead of ourselves, but we're well aware of the... I wouldn't say the enormity of the task, I'd say the challenge of the task ahead, and we're certainly looking forward to it," he said.
Hesson was bullish about his team's bowling line-up and particularly highlighted the role of Mohammad Nawaz, who he branded as 'the best spin bowler in the world at the moment'. After being overlooked for Pakistan's squad for last year's T20 World Cup, Nawaz recently made a notable comeback into Pakistan's T20I side, picking up a fifer including a hat-trick against Afghanistan in the final of the T20I tri-series also involving the UAE.
"I guess the beauty of our side is we've got five spinners. We've got Mohammed Nawaz, who's the best spin bowler in the world at the moment, and he's been ranked that way over the last six months since he's come back in the side. And obviously we've had Abrar [Ahmed] and Sufiyan [Muqeem] do as well as he has. Saim Ayub is now in the top ten all-rounders in the world. So obviously that comes on the back of his improved performance with the ball. And Salman Ali Agha has hardly bowled, and he's obviously the test spinner for Pakistan" he said.
Hesson wasn't quite as confident about his batting unit, however, and conceded that it was a unit in transition. "It's very much a developing batting line up. And there's a number of players who, on their day, can win you the game, but they don't have as many good days as you'd like at the moment. I think that's very fair. The thing for us, though, is we're more interested in the sum of the parts as a batting group. Because there are times where 150 is good enough, there are times where 190 might not be. So you've got to, as a batting unit, decide what's required to win the game and see if we can get above that," he said.
The marquee clash is set to happen in Dubai where India bundled the UAE out for just 57, with Kuldeep Yadav picking up four wickets, in their opening game. Pakistan too will have an opportunity to assess conditions when they face Oman tomorrow at the same venue.
"Look, I don't think you can expect that this pitch is gonna spin like it did in Sharjah. And even yesterday when Kuldeep [Yadav] bowled, it didn't spin a huge amount. I think whenever you've got wrist spinners like that it doesn't really matter about the surface as much," said Hesson.
Dubai will first host Pakistan versus Oman, but the city is already bracing for the clash that follows. India have shown their hand, Pakistan are preparing to show theirs and cricket's fiercest rivalry is once again ready to command the stage.
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