IND vs PAK: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill taking on Shaheen Afridi will worry Pakistan, says Dinesh Karthik

India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has praised the Indian opener for coming out with positive intent against Shaheen Shah Afridi. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted well against Pakistan on Sunday, 10 September in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. The duo added 100+ runs between them for the opening partnership.

India captain Rohit Sharma hit Shaheen for a six in the very first over of the match and then Shubman Gill carried on the assault. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Karthik said that Sharma and Gill's batting would worry Babar Azam and Pakistan ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023.

"The way Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted vs Shaheen Afridi, will worry Pakistan. I think the conditions suited fast bowling at the start of the innings, but India called the shots," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Shaheen, however, made a good comeback in his second spell picking up Gill's wicket with a slower delivery.

"It becomes tough as a batter to pick Shaheen Afridi's slower delivery because of his wrist flick. Second time Shaheen Shah Afridi has deceived an Indian batter," Karthik further added.

Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis was critical of Shaheen during the match and said that the pacer needed to focus more with the new ball and not try so hard.

"Shaheen was totally off colour with the new ball. Nobody in the Pakistan team line-up tried to bowl the short ball and the bouncers. The swing as there - Naseem showed it from the other end. If you bowl in the right areas, you will trouble the batters. But Shaheen has to think hard, even in the previous match, although he bowled a brilliant 10 overs, he was off colour and tried too hard today and gave away easy boundaries," Waqar Younis said during the rain interruption on Star Sports.