'They lost crunch matches, semifinal and couldn't even qualify': Ex-Pakistan captain's 'pinching point' for India

Former Pakistan captain does feel much on the same lines, placing India as favourites no matter the type of competition, but believes that they haven't been able to handle pressure in ICC events.

From the pitch talk to the result in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the focus has completely shifted towards the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will be played in India later in October. Irrespective of the conditions, the Rohit Sharma-led side will head into the contest as a title favourite, but there will be an added pressure of emulating what MS Dhoni and his men had scripted on home soil 12 years back. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez does feel much on the same lines, placing India as favourites no matter the type of competition, but believes that they haven't been able to handle pressure in ICC events.

Indian players walks back to pavilion at the end of the second one-day international cricket match between India and Australia(AP)

Under Dhoni, India had gained success in three ICC tournaments in a span of seven years, winning the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2013. The Men in Blue have since failed to lift another ICC trophy. The closet India had reached was in 2017 Champions Trophy and 2021 World Test Championship, when they had ended as runners-up. And their most forgettable show was in the 2021 T20 World Cup where they had suffered a group-stage exit.

Speaking to SportsTak, Hafeez said that dominating a bilateral series and winning a knockout game in an ICC events are two different scenarios and India have failed to pull off the latter.

“Talking about the last 10-12 years, whichever country they (India) go to play in, they become the favourites. No one can beat India in a bilateral series. So far, I think their success rate has been very high but when it comes to ICC tournaments they fail to perform,” he said.

“You cannot compare playing domestic cricket with international cricket. In the same manner, you cannot compare the pressure in playing a bilateral series with knockouts of an ICC tournament. We have seen in the recent past that India hasn’t been able to handle the pressure. They lost crunch matches, semifinal and even couldn’t qualify,” he added.

The former Pakistan all-rounder further added that India failing to make it count in ICC events is a "pinching point".

“They lost the 2017 Champions trophy. I believe it’s a pinching point for India to prove again by performing well in an ICC event," Hafeez said.

Speaking of Pakistan's chances in the 2023 ODI World Cup, he added: “They lost the 2017 Champions trophy. I believe it’s a pinching point for India to prove again by performing well in an ICC event”