MS Dhoni finished the hype around India-Pakistan rivalry because he kept winning against us: Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi made a bold statement on the India-Pakistan cricketing rivalry ahead of the much-awaited meeting between the arch-rivals in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. India and Pakistan will resume their rivalry in the showpiece event which gets underway in Australia later this month.
Speaking ahead of their game, Afridi said Babar Azam & Co. have managed to bring back some sort of rivalry between India and Pakistan which was lost in the past. Lauding former India captain MS Dhoni, Afridi, who has himself been part of numerous famous India-Pakistan matches, said Dhoni finished the hype surrounding the rivalry between the two teams by winning regularly.
Under Dhoni, India were a force to reckon with across all formats and won several major ICC trophies, including the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy titles. India defeated Pakistan in all meetings in World Cup matches under Dhoni's captaincy.
Afridi said it was a one-sided affair when Dhoni was leading India but after his departure, Pakistan have managed to fight back once again and are on the rise under Babar at present. Pakistan have managed two wins in their last three matches against India under Babar's captaincy.
"Agar aap India ke team ko uthake dekhe, pichhle kuchh arse main, Dhoni ke daur me agar aap dekhe toh unhone apni approach ko change kar diya. Unhone Pakistan team ko...woh joh Pakistan-India hota tha woh khatam kar diya tha. Kyunki woh continuous jeet te jaa rahe the (Under Dhoni, India had changed their approach. He had finished the hype surrounding the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Because under him, the Indian team would always win)," Afridi said during a discussion on Pakistan's Samaa TV.
"Unhone soch badli apni, unhone Australia, England, South Africa...uss level pe unke jo top batsmen the unhone unke saath muqabla karna shuru kar diya tha. Unhone Pakistan ko, sorry to say, side mein rakh diya tha. Par ab woh cheez wapas aa rahi hai and of course wapas ayegi. Approach bohot important hai to decide karein aap apne aap ko kis level me rakhna chahtein hain (They changed their approach and started seeing Australia, South Africa, and England as their main competitors. They had kept Pakistan aside. But now things have changed. Pakistan are coming back and are one of the toughest challenges for India)," he added.
Under Dhoni, India met Pakistan in a total of seven World Cup matches. India defeated the Men in Green in five back-to-back T20 World Cup matches and won twice in two ODI World Cup encounters. Dhoni's first major trophy as India captain — the 2007 T20 World Cup title, came after India defeated Pakistan in a memorable final.
