Saim, Fakhar Under Threat As IND's Spin Threat Looms Large Before Asia Cup Match

Pakistan batters' struggle vs spin [Source: AFP Photo]

The wait is almost over as India is set to take on Pakistan in a riveting Asia Cup 2025 group stage match on Sunday, September 14, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In recent years, the India vs Pakistan rivalry has been one-sided, with the Men in Blue dominating the proceedings, but on any given day, Pakistan shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The Men in Green recently won the UAE tri-nation series, and know the UAE conditions on the back of their hands. Moreover, India went ahead with three front-line spinners for the match vs the UAE, and the Indian side already has the upper hand as Pakistan's top three have dismal record vs quality spin bowling.

How the conditions in Dubai will look like

If the India vs the UAE game is anything to go by, then on Sunday, one can expect a spin-friendly deck with plenty of assistance for them. However, as witnessed in so many previous tournaments, the pitch gets better as the game progresses, and spinners might not be as effective as they should be in the second innings. 

Pakistan top 3 vs spinners in T20Is

(Pakistan top 3 vs spinners)

• As the data suggests, Pakistan's top three have a dismal record against quality spin bowling, and this could hinder their performance against a rampant Indian spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel.
• While Saim Ayub has a strike rate of 124 in T20Is, Sahibzada Farhan strikes at 127, and Fakhar Zaman is slightly better at 130. However, these are still poor numbers, and on sluggish wickets, the trio might struggle for 12 overs of spin.
• Sahibzada Farhan has struggled the most with 8 dismissals vs spin in just 14 T2OI matches.

Why the trio struggle against spin-bowling?

• As observed in the recently concluded tri-nation series, the Pakistan top order batters play a conservative brand of cricket, and they play a less risk, less reward style of T20I cricket, which has become outdated. UAE conditions demand batters to be more proactive in their foot movement, but that has been missing from them.
• T20I cricket in 2025 demands an aggressive approach, and the fear of failure against spin-bowling makes them vulnerable; and hence, the trio might struggle against India on September 14.

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