India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening game of the T20 World Cup 2022, on October 23. Last year, Pakistan had registered their first-ever win over the Indian team World Cup history. The Babar Azam-led side cruised past India comfortably as they secured victory by 10 wickets.
Following the release of the schedule of the 2022 edition, former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez spoke in detail about the game.
“ICC always schedules it as the first game so it can get engagement,” Hafeez said in an exclusive interview with Sports Tak.
“Both teams have pressure. I've played many India-Pakistan games, and when you lose the first match, it always has an impact. When we won the first match, you could see that India's body language wasn't the same anymore. Because the amount of pressure a player bears is huge, and if you fail to win, it gets very difficult.”
“Personally, I feel Pakistan is growing high. In India, Virat and Rohit Sharma are two players who can touch par runs when they play. I'm not trying to say that others are not good. But if these two players don't play well in an India-Pakistan game, the others cannot handle that pressure,” said the former Pakistan all-rounder.
Cannot take the pressure
The 41-year-old cricketer also said that barring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, other members of the Indian team “cannot handle the pressure” of an electrifying contest like India-Pakistan match.
“I believe it will always be a good game. Virat and Rohit are very good batsman, but others cannot handle the pressure of India-Pakistan game,” Hafeez explained.
On Rohit Sharma becoming India’s captain in all formats, former Pakistan all-rounder feels that Rohit's possible appointment as India's Test captain will depend on whether he is ready to take on the additional responsibility.
“It all depends on whether he is ready to offer himself for the role. Sometimes a player doesn’t want to take so much pressure and play. It depends on an individual also. There is already the pressure of having to perform as an opener on him. At times, it becomes difficult to cope with too many responsibilities," the 41-year-old added.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the schedule of the edition on January 21, and both India and Pakistan are placed in Group 2 along with South Africa, Afghanistan and two other qualifiers.
