‘Take on Shaheen Afridi, don’t look to survive': Gambhir's fiery advice to Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul before IND vs PAK

So what should be the gameplan of India's power-packed top-order which definitely has a telling weakness against left-arm seamers bringing the ball back in, against Pakistan's spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi? Gautam Gambhir says to go on the offensive and put the pressure back on the left-arm pacer who will be coming back from a long injury layoff.

The last time India faced Pakistan in a World Cup match, Shaheen Shah Afridi removed India's openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his first two overs and then got back to remove a well-settled Virat Kohli in the slog overs. In short, Afridi was one of the main reasons why Pakistan registered their first-ever victory against India in a World Cup match across formats. Almost a year later, the two teams will again meet in another World Cup group match. But this time the venue will be Australia's Melbourne Cricket Ground, meaning Afridi, who has just recovered in time to be available for the world event, will have bounce and pace from the pitch to cause more trouble to Rohit, Rahul and Kohli.

India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave (BCCI Twitter)

So what should be the gameplan of India's power-packed top-order which definitely has a telling weakness against left-arm seamers bringing the ball back in, against Pakistan's spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi? Gautam Gambhir says to go on the offensive and put the pressure back on the left-arm pacer who will be coming back from a long injury layoff.

“When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don’t look to survive. Look to score runs from him. Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small. Whether it’s your backlift, whether it’s your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can’t look to survive. I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it. India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Game Plan' ahead of the big-ticket India vs Pakistan match on October 23.

Since last year's World Cup defeat, India and Pakistan have met twice in the Asia Cup with the Rohit Sharma-led side winning once and Babar Azam's men taking the honours in the next match. Both teams will head into the World Cup high on confidence. India have beaten both Australia and South Africa at home while Pakistan have done well in the tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh.

Come October 23, another chapter will be added to the glorious history of these cricketing giants and it will be interesting to see how the India batters tackle Pakistan's bowlers.