India will struggle against Pakistan if Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma don't score: Mohammad Hafeez
India Today
Former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said that India may struggle to cope with the pressure of a match against Pakistan if captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don't score runs in the 2022 World Cup.
India may struggle to cope with the pressure of a match against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup if captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli don't score big runs, former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said. Hafeez said that India are currently dependent on the pair and while they have good players in other positions, Rohit and Kohli are best equipped to deal with the pressure that comes with a match against teams like Pakistan.
"At this moment, Pakistan team is growing and as far as India is concerned, I think Virat and Rohit are very important players and in big games like Pakistan, if these two don't get the runs, it is very difficult for the other Indian players to deal with the pressure of such big games, though I am not taking anything away from the other players," Hafeez, who is representing Asia Lions at the inaugural Howzat Legends League Cricket in Oman, told Sports Tak.
Hafeez, who recently retired from international cricket, played an integral role in Pakistan's unbeaten run to the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. The 41-year-old said that he had always wanted to be part of a Pakistan win against India in a World Cup and was happy that he could achieve that before he retired.
India fell to a stunning 10-wicket defeat to Pakistan in their opening match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. It was the first time that they had won against India in any World Cup match.
The two arch-rivals will face each other again in their first game of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
"I always had this wish that if we (Pakistan) do win against India in a World Cup game, I should be part of it. I am proud of the fact that it did happen and I was part of it.
"Retirement was always something that I was planning but I was pushing myself to be part of a World Cup winning Pakistan team. I wanted to retire on a happy note and wanted to set a precedent that a player has to retire on his own terms and happily," said Hafeez.
