'No matter how well Pakistan play, they won't win if India don't make mistakes'

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes the chances of Babar Azam's team breaking the winless streak on Sunday depends largely on playing their best cricket while expecting the Indian team to make mistakes on the field when the arch-rivals face each other in their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 opener at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan are yet to register a win against India in World Cups, having lost all their 12 meetings, which includes five defeats in the T20 WC itself. However, Latif feels that if Pakistan can get their tactics in place, they can induce maximum errors from the Indian side, which have been deemed the favourites to lift the trophy in the UAE.

"In my opinion, no matter how well Pakistan play, if Indian players don't make mistakes, then it will be difficult for Pakistan to win the match," Latif told Khaleej Times.

"When I captained Pakistan, I always tried to induce errors from the opposition. Of course, you have to do your own job first, but at the same time, it's important to make the other team commit mistakes. So, it's not just about the technique or skills, it's about tactics. You have to get your tactics right and try to make the other team commit errors."

Latif also pointed out that the presence of riches in the Indian line-up could lead to captain Virat Kohli making an error in picking their XI for the Pakistan tie.

"We have to see what Virat does if he wins the toss, and what combination he will be play," Latif said. "Will he play Suryakumar Yadav? Or Ishan Kishan? Then you also have to see which spinners they will play. There is Varun Chakravarthy, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. So there is a chance of making a mistake by the captain in terms of picking the right players because you have so many options."

Despite the miserable head-to-head record, the former wicketkeeper-batsman strongly feels that Pakistan will produce their best efforts to break the streak and record their first win against India in a World Cup game.

"If you see the record, India have always won these matches in the World Cup. And before every World Cup game against them, we in Pakistan always say that this time we will win. So I am sure the Pakistan team will give their best to win this match tomorrow," he said.

Pakistan, earlier on Saturday, named their 12-man squad for the match against India where Mohammad Nawaz has been dropped and either one of Haider Ali and Mohammed Hafeez will likely make the final XI.