Champions Trophy: Harbhajan Singh explains ‘only way’ Pakistan can ‘upset’ India

India Today

Champions Trophy 2025: Harbhajan Singh, in an interview with India Today, said that Pakistan need to take early wickets in the first five overs to give themselves any chance of beating India in the marquee clash on Sunday in Dubai.

Transcript

00:00Harbhajan, I started off by saying, you know, this encounter is special and it's a high

00:04pressure game and so on and so forth.

00:06Do you still believe that India Pakistan have that edge like it used to when you were playing?

00:12Well, the competition wise, it's not there anymore.

00:15I believe that India is way ahead in this game.

00:18Yes.

00:20And the hype wise, of course, the media have created a great hype as a, you know, ever,

00:25you know, they they're good to do that.

00:27So we are also part of it.

00:29That's exactly what I was going to say.

00:31So, yeah, in terms of cricketing skills wise, you know, those days are gone.

00:36The Pakistan team was a very, very good team and they had a not a very good record in the

00:41World Cup.

00:42But yes, in Champions Trophies, they have got a good record against India.

00:47But now, if you see these two teams, India is way, way ahead in this game because you

00:52see their batting is perfect.

00:55Cricketing wise, they have spin, fast bowling, everything is covered, whereas the Pakistanis,

01:01they have lost their first game at their home.

01:04And now they're here in different conditions, which they'll have to adapt from there to

01:09here.

01:10It'll be a drastic change.

01:11They are not scoring runs in Pakistan.

01:13Those are batting conditions.

01:14Here it'll be even tougher for them.

01:16So right.

01:17As Harbhajan sets this game up for us, telling us various factors which make us the Indian

01:22team as favorite.

01:23Harbhajan, to you, everyone is saying that India is the clear favorite.

01:27So what should we assume?

01:28This is done and dusted?

01:29Or do you think there is an outside chance that Pakistan can upset this India?

01:33Well, the only way Pakistan can upset India is obviously, you know, if India is, you know,

01:40three down in first three, four overs, you know, that is the only way I see they can

01:44have some edge on the game.

01:46But I still feel that India have a lot of depth in their batting lineup.

01:50They can still recover from that phase and put up a good score on the board.

01:56But it'll be a big challenge for Pakistan to beat India.

01:59But it's a funny game.

02:01Anything can happen.

02:02I don't want to be, you know, taking things for granted.

02:05If I was a player, you know, that we have a better side.

02:08As a player, I would think that, you know, this is an important game.

02:12There will be pressure because the stadium will be packed.

02:14Expectations are very high.

02:17I think India have got more on stake rather than Pakistan.

02:20See, they, you know, that now they have started off with it.

02:24They have got nothing to lose, you know, but India have got everything to save.

02:28So whereas pressure will be there on both the team.

02:32But I think India will be playing their A game and will manage to get a win.

02:38That's interesting.

02:39You say that India have more to lose because there is also this, you know, common thought

02:43at the moment that Pakistan probably it's a do or die game for them.

02:47So they have more to lose.

02:48And India have won the game.

02:49But do you see it differently?

02:51Well, if Pakistan, they don't win, they're out of this competition, right?

02:56More likely they'll be out.

02:58So yes, they have in that term, you know, they have a lot on stake.

03:03But in terms of, you know, how India take their defeat against Pakistan, that's a different

03:08ball game I'm talking about.

03:10Everyone gets angry back home.

03:12But yeah, it's going to be a great game.

03:15You know, pressure will be there.

03:17And I think India is fully ready for this competition.

03:21And the stadium will be equally divided with the fans as well.

03:25Maybe 70% India, 30% Pakistani crowd, but it will be a great game for the spectator.

03:33But how I see this game, India have this edge.

03:37India have the edge in this game.

03:39And I'm sure if the bat first or ball first, it will not make a difference.

03:45I would ideally want India to bat first, if they get a chance and get some runs on

03:50the board like 280-300, that'll be a difficulty, kind of a target for Pakistanis to chase.

03:56We looked at the factors that make India the favourite, you also listed some of those.

04:01But if I was to look at from Pakistan's point of view, do you think Dubai probably, and

04:05the pitch that we get in Dubai is the best chance for Pakistan to upset India?

04:09Because many believe if you are playing on a good batting track, like you get in Pakistan,

04:13India were clear-cut favourites.

04:15But now that it's a tricky pitch, it gives Pakistan an outside chance.

04:19See Pakistan can, the only way I see Pakistan doing well is taking three, four early wickets.

04:25And also somebody need to play a brilliant inning.

04:28You know, at the moment, none of their batting lineups from their batting lineup is looking,

04:35you know, a solid, solid player because Rizwan got runs recently, one of the other guy got

04:42runs recently.

04:43Salman.

04:44Salman Agha.

04:45Agha got runs.

04:46But conditions will be different here.

04:48And Pakistanis, they don't really have spin in their bowling unit.

04:52So I feel, you know, India have the edge, but you know, I do believe that, you know,

05:00they will not take those three wickets up front and they will not score big runs, Rizwan

05:04will not fire.

05:05Babar, I'm not too worried about, you know, Babar, the kind of inning he played, you know,

05:10even if he bat for like 20-30 overs, we know that he's going to get 60, maybe 60 or 70.

05:18He's not going to play a runner ball kind of inning, he's going to be a slow sluggish

05:23kind of inning.

05:24Fakhar Zaman was a big threat, he's out of the competition.

05:26So the only way I see is, you know, as I mentioned that India not to lose three, four wickets

05:32up front, you know, just to give them some sort of edge or that smell of, you know, success.

05:39Okay, interesting that you mentioned, Pakistan haven't got much of a spin attack, they've

05:43only come with one spinner in Abrar, India have four spinners.

05:47One team has made a blunder, which is that team?

05:51By looking at the condition, I think certainly Pakistan have made that blunder.

05:55These conditions since I was here, Nikhil, last whole month I've done some broadcasting

06:00work here.

06:01I've seen good spinners like Hasranga, Rashid, they have picked wicket in every game here,

06:07in T20 format.

06:09In 50-over format, you know, obviously, these guys will have more overs and they will be

06:15more successful.

06:16There will be spin, there will be a pitch which will obviously play slower and slower

06:23as the game will progress.

06:25So good spinner will always be in the game.

06:27I am not saying that India should play with four spinners, because Pakistan can play spin

06:33bowling.

06:35But I would like to see, if at all, one change, I don't think that's going to happen.

06:38I would like to see Varun Chakraborty playing this game instead of, you know, either you

06:43leave Akshar or Jadeja out.

06:44I know it's a big call, big task, but that's not going to happen.

06:49But you know, as a player, as someone who's a well-wisher of Indian cricket, I would want

06:55to see that Varun Chakraborty's form getting back into the fold and taking those wickets.

07:02Oh, that's interesting that you mentioned play Varun Chakraborty.

07:05We had Mr. Gavaskar join us yesterday for the analysis of India-Pakistan.

07:09He had a left field, very out of the box, I guess.

07:13He said play four spinners, get Harshit Rana out, Hardik and Shami, your two fast bowlers,

07:19play four spinners.

07:20What do you make of that?

07:21Well, I don't think that's going to happen.

07:22This pitch is obviously, it's a slower pitch, but it's not spinning like those turners we

07:28see back home in India, you know, in some of the test match.

07:32Four spinners will be a bit too much, you know, obviously, if we were playing this game

07:36against Australia or maybe some other team, they don't play.

07:40England.

07:41Yeah, England.

07:42They were struggling.

07:43Yeah.

07:44So maybe four spinners against those teams would work, but not against Pakistan.

07:47So stick to three, and three out of three, you know, two of them, they're all-rounders.

07:52But they're still, you know.

07:53But you have gone with one all-rounder.

07:56You want both Kuldeep and Varun to play.

07:57Yes, I would want to see Varun and Kuldeep and Akshar and Jadeja, whatever, whoever you

08:02want to pick.

08:03You can do a con-toss.

08:04Both of them are outstanding.

08:06One better with the ball, the other good with the bat as well.

08:09What do you make of the batting approach?

08:11What it should be?

08:12Because, was it Bangladesh who won that game?

08:14But there was a bit of a hiccup, Rohit started off well, but once he got out, you had a bit

08:17of a collapse.

08:18Can India learn a thing or two from that Bangladesh game for the Pakistan game?

08:22I think the learning would be, you know, as we have seen this game, you know, first 10

08:28to 15 overs are the, you know, best over to score runs quickly.

08:33So Rohit and Shubman, they both have done a great job by setting the platform right,

08:37you know, scoring quickly in first 10 to 15 overs.

08:40As the ball gets softer, as the ball gets a little older, it's obviously going to be

08:45not as easy as it was in the first 10 or 15 overs when the circle was still on.

08:52So once the circle will spread, the ball will get a little old, it will be hard for

08:58batsmen to score runs in boundary, you have to play a lot of singles and doubles.

09:02And that is the only, you know, learning I think India will take forward from there.

09:07You know, good thing is Shubman got runs 100, he's got big 100, you know, someone who batted

09:12for a longer period of time and then KL looked really good, you know, in the end.

09:17Apart from these two, I think Rohit played, you know, a very crucial part, you know.

09:24So the important is to make it count the new ball, whether with the bat, whether with the

09:28ball, you know, I think India won that game because they were very good in both the departments,

09:35you know, they bowled well with the new ball and they batted well against the new ball.

09:40Final question before we let you go, Arbhajan.

09:42One thing that we know with Pakistan teams, you push them to a wall and that's when they

09:46come out with their best performance.

09:48Is this Pakistan team also capable of doing that?

09:51Should we be worried about their mercurial nature?

09:54Well, India should not be worried about, you know, how Pakistan are going to approach this

09:59game.

10:00India should approach this game as, you know, how they want to approach this game.

10:05You take it like in another game and do those small things right.

10:10If they are able to do those small things right by putting small, small partnership

10:15when they are batting and of course, when they are bowling, taking those, you know,

10:20wickets at important time, you know, I think India will be good.

10:25So India should not be worried about what Pakistan will bring on the table.

10:30They will see this condition, the condition and they'll go accordingly.

10:34I think India is overall a better team and I hope India remains an unbeaten team in this

10:41competition.

10:42Oh, I forgot to tell you, we went for the India practice session and the team was supposed

10:46to practice at 2pm local time and one man reached at 1pm and he was Virat Kohli.

10:52He came an hour before.

10:53See, I told you before.

10:55And he spent one hour and then he continued the full practice session.

10:57Okay, I'm going to make a big prediction here.

11:01How about Virat Kohli getting a 100 tomorrow?

11:03Versus Pakistan.

11:04Yeah.

11:05So, no matter how his last four months have gone, you know, people will obviously remember

11:11if he goes on to get a 100 tomorrow.

11:13So come on, Chiku, the whole nation is behind you.

11:16I am hoping that you get a 100 and I'm going to do a Bhangra with you after the game.

11:22Now for the, of course, for Virat Kohli's 100, but also for India's Bhangra.

11:28We just hope, fingers crossed, Virat Kohli gets that 100.

11:30He was hard at practice today, spent an extra hour practicing, tells you how important it is.

11:35Yeah, good to see, good to see, you know, that means he cares, he understands that,

11:39you know, his role.

11:41People are looking forward to see Virat Kohli bat and score runs and the team needs him

11:45more than anybody else.

11:47And of course, Virat Kohli, you know, when he comes good, when the competition becomes

11:52harder, you know, players like him always come in the party and this is the right time

11:57for him to hit the form and good to see him back in the nets early and practicing harder

12:02than the others who practice harder than the others, they tend to get the right results

12:07as well.

12:08So, good luck.

Category

Transcript

Recommended