Asia Cup: Can Pakistan Deal With India's Spin Challenge On Dubai Pitch? Khaleej Times

Mohammad Haris was brimming with confidence after the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter warmed up for Sunay's big clash against India in the Asia Cup with a fine half-century against Oman on Friday.

Haris was solid against Omani spinners, showing an impressive range of shots against the bowlers of slow variety.

But the 26-year-old walked into the middle on Friday with the highest score of 15 in his last 11 T20 Internationals.

It was not the ideal returns from a player who has big shoes to fill following the selectors' decision to drop Mohammad Rizwan, the hugely experienced wicketkeeper-batter, alongside star batsman Babar Azam for the Asia Cup.

But skipper Salman Agha and the team management kept backing Haris despite his string of low scores, which included the recent tri-series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Now, ahead of the huge match against India, Haris repaid the faith with a fine knock, which featured some outstanding shots against spinners.

The ability to handle spin could be key against an India team featuring two world-class white-ball spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.

Haris says the backing from the team management has played a big role in his confidence-boosting knock (66 off 43 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes) against Oman ahead of the India test.

"The confidence and backing is needed for any player. The way the captain and coach, and senior players, backed me, I'm thankful to them,” he said.

“It's tough when performances don't come - there's a lot of criticism to deal with, but I took it positively."

Haris then revealed how he has improved his game against spin.

“I've been working hard with the batting coach, working on my calmness, and how to tackle spin," he said. "The seniors have been helping, giving advice. I wanted to use all that and deliver for the team."

But it's going to be a different challenge against reigning world champions India.

“We have made our preparations for India; hopefully, we will have a good match,” he said.

“Also, the Dubai wicket is a good one to bat on, spinners don't get big help on this track compared to the Sharjah pitch where we played recently (in the tri-series.”

But Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep got nine and seven wickets respectively on the same Dubai pitch where India played all their matches in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

India went on to win the final of that 50-over tournament against New Zealand with Chakaravarthy (2/45) and Kuldeep (2/40) making a big impact, helping the Rohit-Sharma led team restrict the Kiwis to 251 for seven.

Now, can Haris' newfound confidence help the Pakistan batting unit rise to the challenge at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday?

Pakistan will draw confidence from their two previous T20I wins against India on the same ground - the first one at the T20 World Cup in 2021 and the second one at the 2022 Asia Cup.

But this time around, they will be up against a young and fearless Indian team that has moved on effortlessly from the Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli era, winning 17 of the 21 matches they have played since the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.

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