Asia Cup 2018: VVS Laxman picks one Pakistani batsman who can trouble India in the marquee clash

The clash between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 19 in the upcoming Asia Cup is expected to be a high-voltage affair. The teams last met in the 2017 Champions Trophy in which both won a match each. As far as records in the UAE are concerned, Pakistan have the upper hand as they have rolled India over in 19 out of 26 matches.

This time around, the Men in Blue won’t have the services of Virat Kohli and his absence has been assumed to be an advantage for Sarfraz Ahmed’s men. In the meantime, VVS Laxman, the former Indian cricketer, believes that right-handed middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik can turn out to be a thorn in the flesh of India during the marquee encounter on Wednesday.

He has got an abundance of experience

“Yeah, the reason he does well against India is his experience, he is a good player of spin bowling because in the middle invariably India will look to attack with the spinners and they’ve got two quality risk spinners now in, Chahal and Kuldeep while Pakistan is evidently dependent on their opener Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam at number 3,” Laxman was quoted as saying in Star Sports.

“Shoaib Malik is someone who would look to play the anchor role because he has got the ability to rotate the strike, play down the ground, taking easy singles. But at the same time when he presses the accelerator, he can play the big shots and he has got an abundance of experience and he is a champion as far as the wide ball is concerned,” he added.

Malik has an impressive record against India as he has racked up 1661 runs thus far in 39 matches at an impressive average of 47.45. Moreover, he has racked up four tons out of his nine against Pakistan’s arch-rivals. In the UAE, the Sialkot-born player has faced India in a couple of matches in which he has scored 57 runs.

[interaction id=”5b850755b2f508c4e5fc8f51″]