Playing in your first World Cup is one thing; playing in your first India-Pakistan World Cup encounter, with all the hype and hoopla surrounding it, is quite another. You can’t blame others for feeling the pressure of not making a mistake if certain players on both teams regard it as a major opportunity to establish their name.
These are the times when experienced players need to become mentors. Virat Kohli would have understood that by observing Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, among others, in 2011. Babar Azam would have had similar guidance from Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in 2019. Staying calm is important, but it is even more crucial to remind oneself that it’s just another game.
When the two neighbors square off in Ahmedabad on Saturday, at least five players from each sides will be experiencing the following emotions:
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, India’s number four, has had a tough start to his debut World Cup. He was out for a duck against Australia in Chennai and didn’t have much of a chance to bat against Afghanistan in Delhi despite getting 25*. His form was also erratic in the run-up to the World Cup following his comeback from a major injury.
The surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium is supposed to be flat and may suit him, despite the fact that he did not play here once during the IPL owing to his injury. Otherwise, the right-hander has only played one ODI against Pakistan, in the 2023 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, when he scored 14 (9) runs.
Abdullah Shafique
Pakistan’s right-handed opener Abdullah Shafique is in good form for this match. He filled in for Fakhar Zaman immediately after the first World Cup match. In the game against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad, he scored a brilliant 113 runs off 103 balls, leading his team to victory.
Apart from that, the 23-year-old lacks experience in high-pressure situations in international cricket. In his limited four ODIs prior to this tournament, he had a 52 against Sri Lanka and he scored poorly against the Netherlands and New Zealand three times.
Mohammed Siraj
India’s opening bowler Mohammed Siraj is also playing his first match of the World Cup. There have been a few quiet suggestions to remove him from the team because he only has one wicket from two matches in the World Cup so far.
But Siraj has been one of the best bowlers for the Indian cricket team in the last two years and recently bowled an impressive bowling performance of 6 wickets for 21 runs against Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asia Cup final.
Despite bowling effectively against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, Babar Azam’s team has struggled against the new ball this year and might help Siraj turn his campaign around on Saturday.
Shubman Gill/Ishan Kishan
Shubman Gill was left out of India’s starting lineup for the first two World Cup matches owing to dengue sickness. He recently returned to practice but isn’t confident he’ll play. In his absence, Ishan Kishan started and recorded 0 and 47.
Whoever plays in Ahmedabad will be playing in his first World Cup encounter against Pakistan. India would not mind either, since both players struck half-centuries against the Men in Green in the Asia Cup.
While Gill brings experience and runs from his stint with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL (669 runs at an average of 66.90) to Ahmedabad, Kishan provides a left-handed alternative at the top of the order to join Rohit Sharma.
Saud Shakeel
Saud Shakeel, Pakistan’s middle-order batsman, hasn’t played an ODI against India in any competition, like Shafique. He is, nonetheless, in good shape. He formed an important partnership with Mohammad Rizwan against the Netherlands, scoring 68 to win the Player of the Match award, and backed it up with a solid 31 against Sri Lanka.
In eight One-Day Internationals, the left-hander has scored 175 runs at an average of 29.16 and a strike rate of 92.59. He may be assigned the critical task of facing India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the middle overs of the match.