"Ashwin has to start against Pakistan" - Former NZ coach Glenn Pocknall ahead of IND vs PAK match in T20 World Cup 2022

Former New Zealand coach Glenn Pocknall believes Team India need to play Ravichandran Ashwin in their T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan. The two teams will clash on Sunday, October 23, at the MCG.

Pocknall feels the veteran spinner's experience will come in handy for the Men in Blue against their arch-rivals.

He also reflected on how Kiwi all-rounder Michael Bracewell troubled Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan during the recently-concluded tri-series. Pocknall has worked closely with Bracewell previously.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, here's what the former New Zealand coach had to say about Ashwin's potential impact against Pakistan:

"For me, Ashwin has to start against Pakistan. Although he hasn’t played a lot of T20 cricket of late, he is a world-class bowler. The craft of taking the ball away from the left-hander is crucial."

He added:

"Having said that, Bracewell also troubled Babar and Rizwan, who are right-handers. So it is certainly a match-up against their top-order."

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Glenn Pocknall on India naming Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement

There has been plenty of debate about whether Mohammed Shami was the best option to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World cup squad.

Some feel Shami might be rusty since he hasn't played a single competitive game since July. While he did well in this year's Indian Premier League, the speedster hasn't played a T20I since last year's T20 World Cup.

Glenn Pocknall believes Bumrah is almost impossible to replace in the Indian team. However, he feels Shami's experience could be valuable for the Men in Blue in a big tournament like the T20 World Cup.

On this, he stated:

"They have clearly tried to replace Bumrah’s expertise with Shami’s experience. Even though he hasn’t played much, they are banking on his experience of playing in big games and in big tournaments."

Pocknall continued:

"You have lost one of the world's best bowlers in Bumrah and the coaches have tried to bring Shami’s experience in the tournament that will be mentally challenging. That is something I would have done as well because it is difficult to replace Bumrah."

Shami notably did brilliantly in the warm-up game against Australia last week. The right-armer bowled only the final over and picked up three wickets while conceding just four runs to win the game for India.

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