Asia Cup 2022: “Change mentality, show some courage” - Danish Kaneria urges Pakistan to learn from India

Former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take a leaf out of Indian cricket and start building bench strength. Kaneria reckons that Pakistan are too concerned about the present and are not looking to the future.

Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India on August 28 in Dubai in the marquee clash of Asia Cup 2022. The last time the two teams met at the same venue, during the 2021 T20 World Cup, Babar Azam’s side hammered the Men in Blue by 10 wickets.

Previewing the Indo-Pak Asia Cup 2022 clash, Kaneria lamented Pakistan’s lack of preparation. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he commented:

“Pakistan have played very few T20Is since last year’s World Cup. They have played seven and won six. They played one big T20 game against Australia and lost that as well.

"In comparison, India have played 24 matches, winning 20 (19 to be precise). India’s ratio is much higher and they have mostly played their B and C teams. As Rohit Sharma said, India are creating a bench strength.”

Comparing India’s planning with that of Pakistan, the former cricketer pointed out:

“India are looking at the future. Unfortunately, Pakistan are not thinking on similar lines. There is no emphasis on creating a bench strength. They need to change their mentality and show some courage. On the Netherlands tour, they could have given young players some chances.”

Pakistan will play three ODIs in the Netherlands from August 16 to 21. The selectors have named a full-strength squad for the series.

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“Babar and Rizwan make an impact” - Danish Kaneria hoping for Pakistan openers to come good

Speaking about Pakistan’s key batters for the Asia Cup 2022 clash against India, Kaneria admitted that a lot will depend on skipper Babar and keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.

Sharing his views on the opening combination, he said:

“Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are a highly successful opening pair and they make an impact. Left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman will come in at No. 3 in my playing XI. There is inconsistency in his batting, but still he is good at 3.”

Babar has registered scores of 79 and 66 in his last two T20I knocks. Rizwan has also done well, scoring half-centuries in two of his last four T20I matches.