'They will be pretty happy': Gavaskar explains why Pakistan will be 'breathing a lot easier' against India in Asia Cup

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar feels the Shaheen Afridi-led Pakistani bowling attack will be a happy bunch when they face India in their Asia Cup Group A match in Dubai on Sunday, primarily due to the absence of star batter Virat Kohli.

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Kohli, after all, had struck a match-winning century against the Men in Green when the two arch-rivals met in the ICC Champions Trophy, which was also a Group A clash in Dubai and took place in the ODI format, earlier this year.

Before that, he had pulled off an almighty rescue act for the Men in Blue in their T20 World Cup match in Melbourne three years ago, scoring an unbeaten 82 to steer India to a last-gasp four-wicket victory from a near-hopeless position.

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The two knocks are a plethora of match-winning performances that have come off Kohli’s bat against Pakistan across formats over the years.

Kohli, however, has retired from Twenty20 Internationals as well as Test cricket – quitting the former after India’s T20 World Cup triumph last year – and is active only in One-Day Internationals. His retirement from the two formats have coincided with similar decisions by fellow modern-day great Rohit Sharma, who is also active only in the 50-over format.

Pakistan will be happy with Kohli’s absence, feels Gavaskar

And former India captain Gavaskar feels that Pakistan will happily accept the prospect of not having to bowl at an individual who ranks among the greatest white-ball batters in the history of the sport.

“I’m sure they will be pretty happy not to have to bowl to him. Because we have seen some fabulous innings. What about that Melbourne innings, when the match looked lost as far as India was concerned?” Gavaskar told India Today, citing his knock at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground in October 2022.

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“Then he (Kohli) hit those unbelievable two sixes off Haris Rauf to take India close to a win and then Ashwin finished it towards the end.

“So yes, if I were a Pakistani, I would certainly be breathing a lot easier. That they are not playing against Kohli. Kohli, the cricketer, not just the batter,” he added.

‘It’s the government’s call’

As for the controversy surrounding the upcoming Indo-Pakistani clash – which takes place just months after the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent military conflict between the two nuclear powers – Gavaskar said that it was ultimately the Central Government’s decision to allow the match to go ahead.

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“Well, at the end of the day, it’s the government that makes the call. Whatever decision the government takes, the players and the BCCI have to follow and that’s exactly what has happened,” Gavaskar added.

The match between India and Pakistan gets underway at 8 pm IST at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with toss taking place half-an-hour earlier.