“That awareness the all-rounders may not have” - Former cricketer points out India’s weakness vs Pakistan in 2025 Champions Trophy
Pakistan batter and renowned pundit Ahmad Shahzad has pointed out how Team India's batting depth, courtesy of all-rounders, may backfire if they lose early wickets in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 clash against their arch-rivals. The Men in Blue boast three experienced all-rounders in Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja, offering them balance and depth in the playing XI.
The combination has worked so far for India, as the all-rounders constitute the bulk of their spin department as well as the sixth bowling option, along with a robust lower-middle order. India have made the most out of their all-rounder resources by having the left-handed Axar Patel at No. 5.
So far, the all-rounders have also had the luxury of not dealing with a tricky situation with the bat, given the batters' fine run of form recently. There was a risk of the all-rounders being potentially exposed in the Champions Trophy 2025 match against Bangladesh, but an unbeaten, match-winning 87-run partnership between Shubman Gill and KL Rahul avoided such a scenario.
Ahmad Shahzad opined that the all-rounders might struggle when required to bat for a long time in the event of a batting collapse.
"It will be important for India's top four to play 35-40 overs. You may go for attack early on but if you lose three wickets inside the first 15 overs, then there are a lot of allrounders lower down in India's line-up," Shahzad said on his YouTube channel 'Ahmad Shahzad.'
"It (having all-rounders in the eleven) can work for you in T20Is, like Rohit Sharma says it adds depth to the line-up. But the captain would know that if you lose early wickets in ODIs, you have to plan your innings; to reach the desired target, you need proper batters. That game-awareness the all-rounders may not have," he added.
India had faced such a predicament the last time they faced Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. After collapsing to 54-5 while chasing 339 in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, the all-rounder trio of Kedhar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja could only propel India to 158, as they lost by 180 runs.
"Remember how he snatched the match out of Pakistan's jaws last time" - Ahmad Shahzad issues Virat Kohli warning to Pakistan
Team India ace batter Virat Kohli could not make a major impression in the recent win over Bangladesh. He scored an unconvincing 38-ball 22 before being dismissed by Rishad Hossain. Shahzad, however, sees him as a huge threat despite his patchy form of late.
"Virat Kohli played a good knock against England in tough conditions (52 in third ODI at Ahmedabad earlier this month). When you are short of runs and you come up with such an innings, then your feet (movement), body language, all those things fall in place and help, which will be very good from Virat's point of view," Shahzad said in the same video.
Kohli had scored a fluent half-century in the series finale against England after his poor outing (five runs) in the second ODI in Cuttack. The right-handed batter had laid down the foundation for a big score in Ahmedabad but was dismissed by Adil Rashid.
"He is such a player who plays a magical innings in a big match. Remember how he snatched the match out of Pakistan's jaws last time," he concluded.
Virat Kohli averages 52.15 in 16 ODIs against Pakistan in his career. The former skipper had scored an unbeaten hundred when the arch-rivals met in the 2023 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.