“If India win against Pakistan, they will….”- Suresh Raina makes a BOLD prediction ahead of the IND vs PAK clash in T20 WC

“If India win against Pakistan, they will….”- Suresh Raina makes a BOLD prediction ahead of the IND vs PAK clash in T20 WC

Suresh Raina

T20 World Cup 2022 is underway and the eight teams that haven’t qualified, are clashing to reach the Super 12 stage. The most interesting fight is yet to come; on October 23, Rohit Sharma’s Men in Blue will be eyeing a victory against their eternal rival Pakistan. According to former cricketer Suresh Raina, if India wins the match then they will lift the coveted cup. 

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Raina said: “Definitely, if we win the opening game against Pakistan, we will win the World Cup.”

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He then explained that Mohammad Shami would give the team a bit of X-factor. The 35-year-old praised Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli‘s form and called Rohit a good captain. 

Shami made a comeback to the T20 side after a long gap. That didn’t affect the veteran’s game; he scalped three wickets in the last over during India’s warm-up match against Australia on Monday. When 10 runs were needed in that over, Shami gave only four-run, helping India win the match by six wickets.

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“I would not call Shami a perfect replacement”- Suresh Raina on Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement

Suresh Raina
Mohammad Shami

Suresh Raina, however, doesn’t think Mohammad Shami is the perfect replacement for spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. But the 2011 World Cup winner admitted that Shami is the best option the Indian team has in this situation.

“I would not call him a perfect replacement because you cannot replace Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja. They have played consistently for India and they have given performances. But the best option you had, you have selected him. Shami has given good performances, he has been in good form,” said Raina.

He chose Rishabh Pant over Dinesh Karthik because the former provides the team with the X-factor. Pant is a left-handed batter and can hit sixes from the first ball, which gives the team an advantage.

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