Talking to Shoaib Akhtar is always fun. He will speak his mind and, in doing so, give you multiple headlines. At the same time, he will make some fascinating observations, which make you think. That’s what happened in this World Cup Special episode of Backstage With Boria.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Boria: Shoaib, it is India-Pakistan time once again, and this time in the World Cup on Indian soil. After much deliberation, it all seems to have fallen in place and we will see the mother of all cricket contests in Ahmedabad on October 14. Before that, India will play Pakistan in the Asia Cup as well. Please set up the India-Pakistan match for me.
Shoaib: It is not for the faint-hearted. If you are brave enough, it is your platform. If you are a coward, or if you are insecure, this match is not for you. You want to be a hero, there can be no better platform. In my own case, I will take you back to the Eden Gardens. When I bowled Sachin Tendulkar first ball in 1999, it was a moment that changed my career. It was Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batter of all time. In fact, let me tell you, Sachin was the best I have seen. The way he batted against Wasim, Waqar, Glenn McGrath, faced up to Brett Lee and then me, not to forget the South African pace battery, there is no debate that he was an extraordinary talent and the best I have seen. At Centurion, in the World Cup (2003), the way he batted against us and the kind of pressure he put on us was what won India the game. While it was Sachin who set it up, it was Yuvraj, who doesn’t get enough credit, who closed it for India. Yuvraj, make no mistake, is one of the greatest middle-order batters ever.
Coming to the current teams, let me tell you something, even if it sounds controversial. I always speak my mind, and you know it. From day one, I have been saying that Pakistan should travel to India and play wherever asked. There was never a question of not traveling to India. Let’s face the truth. India generates the maximum money for world cricket and ICC actually uses the money, which comes from India. It is that money, which is then given to us in Pakistan, which helps fund our domestic cricket. So in a way, it is Indian money which is helping our cricket. So there is no reason why we shouldn’t travel to India, and play in front of packed Indian crowds.
Boria: Interesting you are saying this openly! And I am glad you are doing so. Adding to that, we in India have always respected Pakistani cricketers. If Babar Azam plays a quality cover-drive or Shaheen Afridi bowls the way he did in Dubai against India (2021), we have forever admired that effort. So this whole question of not coming et cetera was political.
Shoaib: Indian people and Indian crowds are always appreciative. I absolutely agree with you. And that’s why I say to Shaheen Shah or Naseem Shah or the battery of Pakistan fast bowlers that they should go to India and enjoy playing in front of packed Indian crowds. The crowd will clap for them and even if they don’t, they will surely appreciate the effort. What will go in our favour is that the Indian media will put enormous pressure on the Indian team. For them, the Indian team can’t lose, and if they lose, God help them. This builds humungous pressure on India, and it means we are designated underdogs. Frankly, all the pressure is on India, and we have nothing to lose. All our boys need to do is play their hearts out, and beat India in India. Without much pressure and with all the pressure on India, they can surely do so. Go to India, and beat India. That’s what we should do rather than saying we won’t travel et cetera.
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Boria: Pakistan has never beaten India in a 50-over World Cup, Shoaib Bhai. Never.
Shoaib: There is always a first! There has to be a start, and with you all putting all the pressure on your team, there can’t be a better occasion for Pakistan to beat India in India.
Boria: In doing so, you will have to get over a certain Virat Kohli. You remember the World T20 innings last year in Australia in the humdinger?
Shoaib: That match was all about Virat Kohli. The cricket Gods wanted to do it for him. He wasn’t in the best of form, and was facing a lot of heat from you guys in India. The media was after him. It was God’s way of telling him – this is your stage, come and become king again. If you see all that transpired – rain and a lot of it, 100,000 people, 1.3 billion Indians watching, 30 crore Pakistanis watching, the whole world in awe – the stage was set for Kohli. It was the greatest stage of all. When you add the two sixes he hit off Haris Rauf, that match gave him back his kingdom. I think it was all destined for him on that day at the MCG.
While on Kohli, I don’t think he should play more 50-overs matches after this World Cup. Also, if you see him in T20s, it takes a lot out of him. I think he should play for at least six more years and break the 100 hundreds record of Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli has it in him to break the record. He should focus on Test cricket after this World Cup, and break this record.
Also, there was a lot of chat about him losing captaincy. I don’t read much into it. I actually think it has freed him up. Why did he start playing? He started his cricket to be like Sachin Tendulkar. He has become like Sachin. Scored loads of runs. Now, he should just continue to score runs for his team and win India more and more games. Losing captaincy is actually good for him as a batter, because the pressure of captaincy cripples you.
Boria: When you are on the subject of pressure, I ask you this as someone who is watching from the outside. India, despite having the best of talent, hasn’t won an ICC event in the last 10 years. What do you think is the reason, and where is it that India is going wrong?
Shoaib: First of all, it is the pressure that you all put on the team. It is almost impossible to play with such pressure. Like I told you, it is as if you can’t lose. If you, God forbid, lose, all hell will break loose.
The second and more important point is you had someone who could soak in all the pressure, and protect his teammates. He would not let his teammates feel the pressure, and that was the best thing about MS Dhoni. You won the 2007 World T20 under him, the 2011 World Cup and then the 2013 Champions Trophy. The moment Dhoni gave up captaincy, things went south for India. When I see Rohit, I keep asking this question of myself if he should have accepted captaincy in the first place? I think Rohit feels the panic on occasions, and lets pressure get to him. The pressure of captaincy cripples you, and it happened with Virat Kohli also. That’s why you don’t win a major tournament.
Make no mistake, Rohit does have the team to win the World Cup. As a batter, he is perhaps more talented than Virat Kohli also. He is a classical batsman and the kind of shots he plays, it is just mind-blowing. But with captaincy, is he being able to do that? Let him prove me wrong and all of us wrong, for that’s what all of India will want him to do in this World Cup.
Boria: All I will say is let there be another cracking game between the two teams like we had in Australia, and let sport win. May the best team win, Shoaib bhai.
Shoaib: Absolutely. Let me just say one more thing to you before we wrap up. This World Cup could well be the most amazing 50-over tournament we have seen. I don’t know what is in store for the 50-over format after this, so this is a massive occasion for the sport itself. And that’s why my advice to the Pakistan boys – Babar, Shaheen, Naseem – is that you don’t know if you will ever play in India again, or when such a thing can happen. While I believe India will come to Pakistan in 2025, this is an occasion that each of the Pakistan players should cherish.
Also, when you have a World Cup like this, and your 13-14-year-old aspiring cricketers watch the likes of Bumrah, Kohli, Rohit, Babar or Shaheen in front of them, that’s when you breed the next generation of cricketing talent. The next Virat will come when you stage a tournament like this. The youngsters who see their heroes in front of them will then aspire to be like Virat or Rohit. That’s the big takeaway from this World Cup. The real legacy. So my prayers are for a very successful event. May India make a lot of money, may the broadcaster make a lot of money, but if you want your team to do well and win, don’t put that much pressure on them, for they will then not be able to play to potential!
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