T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir tells India batters how to tackle Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan clash

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has advised Team India players to aim to score runs instead of trying to survive against Pakistan pacer spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi at the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin from 16 October in Australia.

Notably, India will open their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on 23 October and the Men in Blue will look for revenge as they suffered a 10-wicket thrashing against the Babar Azam-led side in the last T20 World Cup.

It was Shaheen Afridi who won the player of the match against India for bowling a fierce spell and dismantling the Men in Blue’s top order as he bagged the wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli.

Meanwhile, Gambhir has suggested India batters to try to time the ball instead of hitting it while facing Shaheen in the much-awaited fixture betwen India and Pakistan.
“When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don’t look to survive. Look to score runs from him,” Gambhir said while speaking on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’. “Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small.

“Whether it’s your backlift, whether it’s your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can’t look to survive. I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it. India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi.”

It is worth noting that Shaheen will be returning to the Pakistan team after a long haul as he missed the Asia Cup in the UAE, the seven-match T20I series against England and the Tri-series currently underway in New Zealand due to a right-knee ligament injury.