Facing desert heat after English weather will be challenging for Indian bowlers, says Sunil Gavaskar

Since the last ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, where Pakistan had overwhelmed India, a clash between both the sides has not been witnessed. So, the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan on Wednesday will be a much-awaited game. However, Sunil Gavaskar feels that after playing in the mild weather of England, Indian bowlers will have to face the challenge of performing in a hot and humid climate of UAE. The Indians were on a tour to the United Kingdom since June and the conditions were completely different from the Middle East.

“The biggest issue though, is going to be the heat and while India's quicker bowlers bowled great and long spells in England, the desert heat so soon after the English weather is not going to make life easy for them. For the batsmen too, the twos and threes is going to take a heavy toll of the energies, so a double hundred is pretty much ruled out in this competition,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI.

Gavaskar also mentioned that some of the Indian players were unable to achieve anything extraordinary in the England series. As per him, getting back to form for many Indian cricketers will be crucial in the Asia Cup.

“India are the defending champions and should start as the favourites, but how quickly some of their players - who had an ordinary tour of England - get back to form will also be crucial. There are also some players like Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who have been out of international competition for a while and so may not get into the groove straightaway,” the former India captain mentioned.

Gavaskar also pointed out that the UAE has been the adopted home for Pakistan since the attack on Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. This makes them well acquainted with the conditions prevailing in the UAE as compared to the Indian squad. Moreover, they had won the last match against India in 2017 at the ICC Champions Trophy and that will be a psychological advantage for the Men in Green.

“Pakistan will have the psychological boost of having beaten India in their last clash in the final of the Champions Trophy. That was an outstanding performance where their opening batsmen and opening bowlers did the demolition job to perfection. The Emirates is the Pakistan team's 'home ground' and they are familiar with the conditions much more than the Indians. Their recent form also has been very good and they have a nice blend of youth and experience, with their fielding unit being perhaps their best ever,” Gavaskar wrote.

"This tournament gives Shikhar Dhawan the chance to show once again that this is the format he loves. He has been consistent in white ball cricket and with his chances in red ball cricket diminishing after the performance in England, he will want to consolidate his position with a solid effort in the Asia Cup. Rohit Sharma too will be eager to show that his omission in the Test team has hurt him. If they get off to a start, then India will be well placed to get a near 300 score.”