T20 World Cup 2021: “Experience the major difference in India and Pakistan's bowling attacks” - Salman Butt

Salman Butt reckons that experience is the major difference between India and Pakistan’s bowling attacks for the T20 World Cup 2021.

India will take on Pakistan in their opening encounter at the T20 World Cup in Dubai on October 24. A number of cricket experts believe that Virat Kohli’s men will have the edge in the mega contest.

According to Butt, the experience of India’s bowlers in comparison to their Pakistani counterparts could make a difference. The former opener claimed that Pakistan too have quality in their bowling attack but lack big-stage experience.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan captain elaborated:

“Experience is the major difference in India and Pakistan's bowling attacks. (Jasprit) Bumrah is highly experienced. Our No. 1 bowler Shaheen Afridi is comparatively very less experienced. Yes, he is a high-quality bowler and can get wickets with the new ball. His pace is very good and he can swing the new ball as well. There are a lot of good things in his possession. He can become a world-class bowler in the days to come.”

The former cricketer further opined that India have an edge over Pakistan in the pace as well as the spin department. He elaborated:

“If you look at our second pacer, it could be Hasan Ali. He is reasonably experienced. But if we look at India, they have (Mohammed) Shami. Again, he is vastly experienced in comparison. So the more you move ahead with the comparisons, it is more the same. Among spinners, they have (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja. We have Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan. So there is a vast difference in the bowling attacks when it comes to experience.”

Pakistan are yet to beat India in a World Cup encounter, be it ODIs or T20Is. However, they did get the better of India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

“Just another game of cricket” - Kohli on India vs Pakistan clash

Virat Kohli recently played down the hype surrounding the India versus Pakistan clash at the T20 World Cup. Then Indian captain stated that the team views the match as a game of cricket and nothing else.

Asked about the excitement surrounding the India-Pakistan match, Kohli replied:

"I have just approached this game as another game of cricket and I know there is a lot of hype around this game, more so with ticket sales and demands of tickets… Yes, the environment you can say is different from outside and from fans' point of view, definitely more excitement in the air but from a players' point of view, we try to stay as professional as we can and always approach the game in the most normal way possible.”

India and Pakistan are placed in Group 2 of the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup 2021 along with New Zealand and Afghanistan.