Rashid Latif details what Babar Azam could learn from Indian icons

Another renowned former cricket player, Rashid Latif, offered his thoughts ahead of this coming Sunday’s explosive match between the two titans. There is a widespread exchange of ideas and conjecture before every India-Pakistan match, covering a wide range of subjects including tactics, lineups, player combinations, and more. When these two fierce rivals clash at the World Cup, the biggest stage of all, this conversation reaches an unprecedented pitch.

Although Babar was an exceptional batsman, the former captain of Pakistan stated in an interview that he still had a lot of room to grow as a leader and captain. In particular, he recommended that Babar Azam watch and emulate the remarkable poise exhibited by Indian cricket stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are both highly skilled at handling pressure. Given Pakistan’s past difficulties in these types of encounters, Latif emphasised the significance of Babar’s ability to handle the extreme pressure involved in conflicts with India.

“The June 9 matchup with India is the main focus. The match against India will put a lot more pressure on Babar than his World Cup performance. He should, however, take a cue from Virat and Rohit on how to handle pressure. They are skilled at carrying the match. According to Rashid Latif, quoted by the Hindustan Times, “Babar is one of the best hitters in the world, but he still has a lot to learn about being a captain and leader.”

The group doesn’t appear to be as ready as they were in 2022 and 2021. Rashid Latif

Further, after identifying Kuldeep Yadav as the main threat both against Pakistan and during the World Cup, given his recent form and accomplishments (he has taken 16 wickets in 11 IPL 2024 matches), as well as the current conditions at the venues and the pitch’s behaviour thus far, Latif hinted that Kuldeep’s fitness would be crucial to India’s success throughout the tournament and rated India as the favourites prior to the match.

Latif said that while Pakistan usually does well in ICC tournaments, their performance in the 2021 and 2022 editions—where they advanced to the semi-finals and ended as runners-up, respectively—seemed less prepared and coherent. He blamed this loss on the fallout from the 50-over World Cup the previous year, which resulted in substantial adjustments to the selection committee, player roster, and captaincy, creating instability in the squad.

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“If Kuldeep Yadav stays healthy for India during the World Cup, he has the ability to really hurt batters.” In addition to being India’s most important bowler, he is essential to their success. India clearly has an advantage before June 9 based on their present performance and statistics. Though they don’t appear to be as prepared as they were in 2021 and 2022, Pakistan’s cricket squad does well in ICC competitions. After the last ODI World Cup, there were changes in the selection committee, players, and captaincy, which caused damage,” Rashid Latif said.