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Former pacer Mohammad Sami feels Pakistan's confidence should help them clinch their third Asia Cup title. The Babar Azam-led side have been a force to be reckoned with in the shortest format of the game largely due to their opening batters and depth in bowling.
Pakistan were among the favourites at the T20 World Cup last year, where they were unbeaten in the group stage but lost to eventual winners Australia in the semis. Nevertheless, Pakistan have been in good touch in the last few months, as they have lost only one T20I contest in almost a year.
Opining that the conditions would favour Pakistan at the Asia Cup, Sami told Cricket Pakistan:
"Pakistan are going to win because their confidence is so high. Pakistan will miss Shaheen, but they’re on a winning spree, so they have confidence on their side. Also, the conditions will favour Babar and co."
Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jnr were ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Pakistan have roped in Muhammad Hasnain and Hasan Ali as their replacements.
Meanwhile, Sami represented Pakistan in 36 Tests, 87 ODIs and 13 T20Is in a career that spanned 15 years. He was part of the squad that faced India in the 2016 Asia Cup and the subsequent T20 World Cup.
"India’s spin attack is pretty good" - Mohammad Sami
Spin played a vital role in the tournament's opening clash, with Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan bowling frugal spells in Dubai. The subcontinent conditions demand a good spin attack, and Sami believes India have got their bases covered in that area.
Rating Afghanistan's spin attack as the best in the competition, the former bowler said:
“India’s spin attack is pretty good. They have a left-arm spinner, an off-spinner, and a wrist spinner too. Afghanistan obviously has Rashid Khan, which makes them the team with the best spin attack in the UAE conditions.”
The Men in Blue have included Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi in their squad. Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Hooda are the other spin bowling options.
Rohit Sharma's men will take on Pakistan later today (Sunday) at the Dubai International Stadium.
Who will win the contest between the two arch-rivals? Let us know what you think.
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