Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has praised India’s display at the recently concluded Asia Cup. The right-arm fast bowler in an interview on Khaleez Times lauded the Indian team’s performance and Rohit Sharma for his captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli.
“See, Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. You cannot really challenge that. But I think even without him this Indian team has really done well in the Asia Cup,” said Younis.
“Virat makes a massive difference at number three. But without Virat in the tournament, I think Rohit has done a wonderful job. He is very calm. His captaincy is growing every day. I have seen him do the captaincy in IPL as well. He is very calm. He likes to allow people to make their own decisions. He allows people to make their moves. He is a wonderful captain,” the former pacer added.
He also credited the Indian openers for their contribution to the team’s Asia Cup triumph. He said the pitches in UAE are similar to the ones in India and this made it more difficult for the opponent.
“Look India is a very professional outfit when it comes to playing in this part of the world. Playing on these pitches is very much like playing in India. They have got a world class openers. And it is very difficult when you have someone like Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan) opening the innings and they are giving you a good partnership almost every time,” said Younis.
Impressed with India’s pace attack during the tournament, Younis said, India is a vast country and cricket has reached almost every corner of the nation. He also credited India’s domestic T20 league, IPL, for this outcome.
“I am not surprised because India is a big country. I always feel that there is always talent around the country. Also, cricket has expanded a bit more. It has reached a lot of different parts of the country now. And fast bowlers, you know, they are not from the rich families. They are from very poor families. These guys really work hard to get up there and IPL also has made a massive difference. You know there are platforms now which make a big difference, especially the IPL platform,” said Younis who took 789 international wickets in his career.