India and Pakistan are poised to face off in the T20 World Cup’s opening match. Prior to the match, though, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes that leadership would be crucial in the high-profile encounter.
Matthew Hayden. Source: hscicdn.com
The margin of error for the teams would be quite small due to the UAE circumstances, according to Hayden, who is a batting adviser for the Men in Green.
He also mentioned MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan as examples. He added that while neither skipper had a fantastic run with their willow in the IPL 2021, they led their teams incredibly effectively.
“Their individual performances were not as good as they have previously done as per their statistical records but the way they led their troops and conducted themselves played an important part in their teams reaching the IPL final in UAE conditions.
“I feel leadership will be key in the coming match as conditions in UAE leave very little margin for error and there are dogfight conditions out there,” Hayden said as reported by Circle of Cricket.
Additional pressure on Babar Azam
One of Pakistan’s most important cogs has been Babar Azam. His contributions to the mega-event team are significant.
According to Hayden, the Pakistan captain will be under even more strain. Because he will be batting as well as leading the team.
“There will be additional pressure on him as captain and batsman because he will be targeted and everyone will be wanting to like they say, put him in their pocket.
“Babar has command and presence and he needs to fulfill that role in a batting sense and captain,” Hayden said.
KL Rahul is one Indian hitter, according to Hayden, who can pose a significant threat to Pakistan.
Hayden went on to say that Rahul has recently dominated the shorter forms. And that he has watched him go through a lot of challenges over his career.
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