Instead of saving wickets against Shaheen Afridi, India should consider scoring runs: Gambhir

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has said that India should face Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi aggressively and not think of saving wickets in front of him in the first match of the T20 World Cup. India will face Pakistan in Melbourne on 23 October. Afridi, who was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury, is seen as a tough challenge for the Indian batsmen in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

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Gambhir said in Star Sports’ program ‘Gameplan’, “Don’t think of saving wickets in front of Shaheen Afridi. Think about scoring runs against him. When you start playing to save wickets, everything will become very small. Backlift, footwork all. T20 cricket cannot be played with this mindset. “I know he is a dangerous bowler but Indian batsmen have to score runs against him. India have top three or four great batsmen who can score runs against Afridi.

Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan while giving advice to Indian bowlers said, “Don’t give place to Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan plays very aggressively in the powerplay. Babur takes time. Bowling has to be done by understanding their game.