Cricket commentator Nasser Hussain has pointed out that Pakistan did not have the batting depth of India in the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2022. He feels the men in green lack because of not having batters like Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.
Notably, Yadav ended his World Cup stint as the third-highest run-scorer after Virat Kohli and Max O’Dowd. He has scored 239 runs at an average of 59.75 in six innings. On the other hand, all-rounder Pandya slammed 128 runs from five games averaging 25.60, which is not so high, but Hussain believes he has more capability than Pakistani batters.
Unluckily, no Pakistani batter occur in the top 10 list of most run-scorers in the World Cup 2022. Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood are the joint highest run-maker for Pakistan, placed at 14th and 15th, respectively, with 175 runs apiece, averaging 25 and 43.75 from seven innings for each.
The commentator on Sky Sports said that,
“Twitter was going ballistic saying ‘how you go on about India and not Pakistan’. It’s a completely different thing. Pakistan don’t have the batting depth we saw in the last few overs in the final. They don’t have players like Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya to come in and smash it,”
Despite determining flaws in Pakistani batting, he heaped praises on the bowling line-up, calling it the best in the world. He believes with the current bowling attack, Pakistan can still be in the game despite giving low targets whereas, India will certainly fail to defend such as during the semifinal against England.
“Also, Pakistan have the best bowling line-up. So, if they get par, even less than par, they are still in the game. If India get par against England on a pitch like Adelaide, you are out of the game. One thing is for certain, India have players. The problem is not the players, it’s the mindset. They need an Eoin Morgan-type character, who would say go in and smash it for 20 overs,”
