IND vs PAK, Asia Cup 2023: How Shubman Gill indirectly called Pakistan pace attack best in world

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Shubman Gill indirectly called the Pakistan pace triplet of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf the best in the world. The 24-year-old attended the press conference on behalf of the Indian team on the eve of the high-pressure and lauded the pace attack of Pakistan.

The India team were rocked by the pace, swing and accuracy of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf in the group stage. The early blows left India reeling at 66/4 before a partnership between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya flourished.

However, Haris Rauf, who clean bowled Shubman Gill, struck once again to send Ishan Kishan (82) packing in the 38th over. Shaheen returned later to get rid of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja as India were bundled out for 266.

Calling Pakistan pace attack the best in the world, Shubman Gill said not playing frequently against quality bowling attacks causes problems in multi-national events like the Asia Cup 2023.

“We don’t play against Pakistan as often as we do against some other teams. We all know that their bowling attack is quite good and when you don’t play against such attacks often it makes a bit of difference in main tournaments,” Gill said.

Gill said that he was also banking on the left-arm throw-down specialist Nuwan Seneviratne to dish out an improved show against Afridi, and in general against Pakistan quicks.

“Definitely (training has helped). He (Nuwan) has been travelling with us for the last 7-8 years. It is nice to have that variation. We have that right-arm specialist (Raghu), the side-arm specialist (Dayannd Garani) and the left-arm specialist. It does help in any conditions that you play,” added Gill.

The Punjab batter added that Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf are three different kinds of pacers and that adds to the problem of the opposition batters.

“They are very different fast bowlers and they have their own specialities. Shaheen gets the ball to swing a lot. Naseem is all about pace and likes help from the wicket. They present different challenges in different conditions,” said Gill.

The opener said that Indian batters will have to dominate unlike last time when the top order collapsed. He explained how his pairing with captain Rohit Sharma can benefit India.

“As openers, we need to make a good start and dominate them from the beginning,” Gill said.

“He (Rohit) is someone who likes to take on the bowlers aerially and I like playing along the ground in the PowerPlay. That combination works well for us. We both are a bit different, how we go about our shots and tackle the situations. That makes it a bit difficult for opposition to contain us,” said Gill.

With his fast in-swinging deliveries, Shaheen Afridi will be a big threat for India. The left-arm pacer clean bowled Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the previous match.

However, Gill denied that there was any extra pressure on the team just because it is playing Pakistan. Though he admitted that pressure in the Pakistan match was "slightly different".

“It was my first time against Pakistan in senior cricket (Asia Cup league match). The pressure is slightly different (from other matches).

“But the pressure will be there no matter what game you play — whether it is against Afghanistan, Netherlands or Pakistan. We have the same level of nerves no matter what,” he added.

Indian team admires Babar Azam a lot: Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill also revealed that he has only admiration for Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

“You obviously look at him. You have to see his videos to learn why he’s doing so well. He is a world class player and we also admire him a lot,” said Gill.