NEW DELHI: Legendary pacer Waqar Younis assessed that India hold an advantage over Pakistan heading into the World Cup due to the better preparation of the team led by Rohit Sharma.
This observation is based on India’s recent triumph in the Asia Cup and a convincing 228-run victory over their arch-rivals in a Super 4 match in Colombo.

The highly anticipated clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled for October 14 in Ahmedabad during the World Cup.
Younis acknowledged that both teams would face pressure in this high-stakes encounter but suggested that the Men in Blue might have a slight edge.

“As we all know, it (India vs Pakistan) will be the biggest game, mother of all the games. So, when you play in Ahmedabad, you will have to control your nerves, and not only Pakistan will be under pressure since it is a weaker team as compared to India.
“But India will also be under pressure because the crowd in the stadium will create pressure on both the teams,” Younis told Star Sports.

“However, if we judge purely based on the team’s performance, India definitely will be a better team,” he added. Younis was also mindful of the Pakistani’s unstable form, and said the injury-enforced absence of pacer Naseem Shah could put them in a significant disadvantage.
“If I talk about Pakistan, they are a miss and hit this time. The absence of Naseem Shah will be a big disadvantage because Naseem and Shaheen (Afridi) used to complement each other with new ball.”

“Though Hasan Ali has been declared as his replacement; he has got a lot of experience and gave brilliant performances in the past, but I feel, to suddenly come and perform on this kind of big stage will not be an easy task for him,” said Younis.
Analysing the Indian squad, Younis said the team has great spinners, while its bench strength is equally potent.
“If we only talk about ticking the boxes then we will see no other team can match India right now because they have good spinners, who are playing right now in the starting XI such as Kuldeep, Jadeja. But they also have strong bench strength.”
(With PTI Inputs)