The fitness of Indian fast bowlers is a concern: Former Pakistani skipper casts doubt

Today’s match between Pakistan and Nepal will serve as the first match of the Asia Cup 2023. At the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 2, Team India will face off against their bitter rivals.

With players like Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul making their returns from injuries, the Indian team has selected a 17-member roster for the continental competition. However, since he is still ailing, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul won’t be able to play in the first two games.

Both the Indian squad and its supporters will be pleased to see Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah back in the bowling lineup. Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who are about to make their comebacks from injury, were absolutely unplayable during India’s tour of Ireland and will be a crucial component of their team’s Asia Cup 2023 arsenal.

Salman Butt, a former Pakistan captain, believes Babar Azam and company would enter the India vs. Pakistan encounter on September 2 as minor favorites despite possessing a strong bowling and batting unit.

“Fitness is a problem while analyzing India’s quick bowling. Players have been out of shape for a while; we are unsure of their fragility or ability to exert full force. They also have young players who have played a lot of cricket but are less experienced than Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

India has only won in games when Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma performed really well. When others are responsible, they have generally battled.

Babar, Rizwan, Fakhar, Shadab, Shaheen, and Haris Rauf are all from Pakistan. And Pakistan has, in my judgment, a far bigger core group. The likes of Jadeja, Shami, Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli are match-winners for India as well. However, their batting is fragile, and the other players will have a lot to prove if Pakistan manages to take the two crucial wickets. In a video posted on his YouTube page, the former Pakistan cricketer said that they had not assisted India in winning games against Pakistan or in their own country.

Butt compared the seam assaults of India and Pakistan and claimed that the latter had a “added advantage.”

“We have bowlers that can hit 90 mph, but only one or two of them can do it; the others don’t have that kind of speed. This is an additional benefit. We have both kind of spinners, including a fast bowling all-arounder who can reach 140 kph, he remarked.

The former southpaw for Pakistan believes that India would be under strain since they will also be carrying the weight of expectations.

There are high expectations for India, thus there is additional pressure. In addition, despite how many IPL they have played, India hasn’t faced Pakistan in a long time for whatever reasons, thus its players lack the expertise of taking part in such high-stakes matches. No matter how much you participate in the IPL, it does not carry the same pressure as the India-Pakistan series, he said. Chahe subah, dopahar, sham IPL khel le.