T20 World Cup 2021: "India under pressure, so they brought in MS Dhoni as mentor" - Tanvir Ahmed
Former Pakistan cricketer Tanvir Ahmed said that going into the 2021 T20 World Cup, India are a team under pressure, which led to Virat Kohli resigning from the captaincy and them bringing in MS Dhoni as a mentor.
In a program with ABP News and ARY News, which also featured the likes of Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag, Ahmed said that while India are a top side, there are various factors putting them under pressure.
"On paper, there is no doubt that India are a top team. The way they have played cricket around the world, but you have to look at recent performances. Firstly, I’d like to talk about Virat Kohli. He was under a lot of pressure and he quit T20 captaincy. He said I won’t captain in T20s as my performances have not been great," Ahmed said.
He also spoke about Dhoni and the fact that the players in the Indian squad did not perform up to the mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season.
"Then, maybe they were under pressure so they are taking MS Dhoni as a mentor. Even if you look at the IPL, the players in India’s squad were not among the top 10 performers. Their spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have not done very well, so of course there will be pressure," Ahmed said.
Find out who has the most runs in the T20 World Cups all these years combined.
Pakistan's experience in Dubai gives them edge over India: Tanvir Ahmed
India and Pakistan will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against each other on Sunday in the Super 12s stage.
Pakistan have never beaten India in a World Cup match, one of the many T20 World Cup records, be it in ODIs or T20 Internationals (T20Is). But Tanvir Ahmed said that Pakistan have the advantage this time around as they have more experience playing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the tournament is being held.
"If you look at Pakistan, they have been playing cricket in Dubai for a long time, they have a good idea of the conditions. On paper, fine, India have a good team, but in T20 cricket, you never know. One player can come and win you the match and go," he said.
India and Pakistan both won the first of their respective warm-up matches before the tournament.
Pakistan came out on top against the West Indies while India beat England in Dubai on Monday.