Shoaib Akhtar feels 'unsettled' India will be under pressure to win WC at home

Former Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar feels India will be under a lot of pressure in the upcoming ODI World Cup while playing at home and with intense media scrutinyAkhtar added the stage is set perfectly for Pakistan the No 1 ODI side to lift the trophy and give the country something to cheer about amid the serious economic situationIndias performance in ICC events has left much to be desired as they have yet to win a world title since the 2013 Champions Trophy triumph under Mahendra Singh DhoniPakistans going to be all lonely there in India Having said that they will be under no pressure Playing at home in front of own crowd all the pressure will be on India we will do better Akhtar said during a virtual press conference organised by Star SportsAll the stadiums will be packed and more than two billion people will be following the live action on TV or social media and what not The Indian media will put an incredible amount of pressure on Pakistan they will build it up like Mahabharata They will already declare India as the winners thats an uncalled amount of pressure to have ahead of the gameBut Rohit Sharma and India are going to face a lot of pressure because of thatIndia will take on Pakistan in the mostanticipated World Cup clash in Ahmedabad on October 14But before that they will clash in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup on Sunday and may also head for a possible title showdown on September 17Akhtar said the Indian team is still unsettled with less than a month left for the World Cup beginning on October 5Why do I have this feeling why India could not pick their XI in last two years Its a very strange thing to me that your squad is not settled Who is your No 4 where will Virat Kohli play 3 4 or 5 Ishan Kishan looks amazing can bat anywhereAlso Read Rohit Sharma weighs in on Indias ODI World Cup bid banks on inform PandyaAkhtar also questioned the Indian selectors for ignoring Yuzvendra Chahal for the World CupNot picking Chahal is beyond me The problem with India is that when they get out for 150200 they will increase the batters but never the bowlersWhat do you expect if you want to take batting till No 8 If the topfive cant contribute what will No 78 do You are banking on Ravindra Jadeja I believe that you India are playing with one bowler lessHe also took a dig at Rohit and said Shaheen Afridi was playing on the Indian skippers mind after the Pakistani quick cleaned him up in the Asia CupYeh Rohit Sharma woh Rohit Sharma hai hi nahi Yeh uska stunt double hai This is not the same Rohit Sharma This is his stunt double said AkhtarShaheen has made his way into his mind I have never seen Rohit change his stance but what was happening there in Sri Lanka He Rohit changed it stance was beaten and bowled Shaheen is subconsciously in his mind This is what the pressure of an India versus Pakistan match does to playersiquest he addedAkhtar said Pakistan will have the advantage as all the attention will be on the home teamPakistan on the other hand will be all lonely with only 15 members there sticking together I will tell them to play without fearAkhtar added he had an intuition that this World Cup will go to PakistanWhy this World Cup is so important for us because it will be special playing in India and winning in India I dont know I may be wrong but this stage is being set for an IndiaPakistan final and particularly for PakistanI will be praying that the Pakistan team wins because we are struggling with economic reforms and our critical financial situation This is the only thing that can lift the nation if we lift the World Cup in India and before that the Asia Cup he saidHailing Pakistans threepronged pace attack of Shaheen Afridi Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf Akhtar said it reminded him of the Wasim AkramWaqar Younis generationThis pace battery reminds me of the old days the era of two Ws They are confident and have a similar mindset of taking wickets he saidThe Pakistani trio has taken 23 wickets in the first three matches of the Asia Cup Afridi had ripped the Indian top order in their raininterrupted clash in Pallekele on September 2I would say Shaheen is on top of his career right now while Haris Rauf has a wickettaking mindset I would advise Naseem to bowl more wickettaking deliveries Hes not the stock bowler Ive told the team managementWith PTI inputs