Asia Cup 2022: “More than Bumrah’s absence being Pakistan’s advantage, I think India will be affected more” - Younus Khan
Former Pakistan captain Younus Khan reckons that Jasprit Bumrah’s absence could affect India rather significantly against Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2022 clash as he is one of the Men in Blue's match-winners.
Bumrah, who is Team India’s pace spearhead across all formats, has been ruled out of the tournament in the UAE due to a back injury. Incidentally, Pakistan’s lead pacer Shaheen Afridi is also out of the Asia Cup 2022, having failed to recover from his knee injury.
India and Pakistan will kick off their Asia Cup campaign by taking on each other in Dubai on Sunday (August 28). Previewing the match, Younis shared his thoughts on Bumrah’s unavailability. He told The Telegraph:
“More than Bumrah’s absence being Pakistan’s advantage, I think India will be affected more. They’ll be missing one of their match-winners.”
While the Indian team is preparing in Dubai for the Asia Cup, Bumrah is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
“India have an edge” - Younus Khan points out one area where Pakistan are lacking
Comparing the skills of the two sides, Younus stated that while Pakistan have an impressive top order, India’s big-hitting ability at the death gives them an advantage. He said:
“If we analyse the lower-order batting and finishing abilities of batsmen in both teams, India have an edge. Pakistan have a solid top order, but their lower order has few finishers or hard-hitters as compared to India.”
The 44-year-old added that out-of-the-box ideas are imperative for a team to taste success in a high-pressure Indo-Pak clash. He explained:
“India-Pakistan matches are not just contests between bat and ball, but beyond that. Whoever thinks and executes something out of the box, turns out to be successful on the day and so does the team the individual represents.”
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The arch-rivals previously met during the T20 World Cup last year. In that game, which was also held in Dubai, Babar Azam’s men crushed the Men in Blue by 10 wickets.