ICC World Cup 2019 | India has a top spin pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, says Saqlain Mushtaq

The India-Pakistan clash has grown in popularity over the years as the two neighboring nations have translated their off-field tensions onto the pitch. The two rival cricketing nations are set to face-off against each other at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 tomorrow.

Ahead of the mouth-watering contest, former Pakistan cricketer and one of the greatest spinners to have graced the game - Saqlain Mushtaq - has heaped praise on Virat Kohli & Co. in a recent interview. The 42-year old former cricketer also singled out the Indian wrist spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal for special praise.

"India is playing very good cricket. It is one of the best sides in the world at the moment and has a chance to win the World Cup. It is much stronger than Pakistan. In our times, we didn’t have much of a difference as we had superstars on both sides. Now we see, in the world rankings, the Indians top the batting line-up. In the bowling department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are in the top-five in the world. It has a top-spin pair (in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) and the side is much better than us in the fielding department as well. That clearly indicates that India is better than us.

"Whatever rivalry and hype we had every time India and Pakistan met is not there that much now because it has mostly become a one-sided affair for India. Even though we won the Champions Trophy in 2017, I feel India was better than us. We were lucky and we all know that Pakistan is an unpredictable team. On the day Pakistan plays with full passion and with a street smart approach, it can beat any team. But I still feel that in the Champions Trophy, India was better than Pakistan," Mushtaq said in a recent interview with Sportstar.

Mushtaq, who played 169 ODIs for Pakistan and picked up 288 wickets in the period, also commented on the decline in the quality of spinners in the Pakistan cricket team over the last few years.

"They are focusing too much on the shorter format. You gain confidence and develop your skill set only when you play the longer format. When you play the shorter format, you don’t use your tactics well. In the longer format, there are ways of getting wickets: to come up with plans to trap the batsman. You indulge in mind games. In the shorter format, that’s not the case. You are just trying to save yourself and in the process, you lure them to get out. Once the batsmen go big, you look at creating opportunities to just get a wicket. This strategy will not work in the longer format because there you don’t know how the batsman will play the next ball. You need to look at the batsman, understand him, notice his footwork and expression in a bid to trap him," Mushtaq added.