Mohammad Amir
Pakistan

IF any player the Indians fear in the current Pakistan side it is the wiry figure of Mohammad Amir. The 27-year-old left-arm paceman is the leading wicket-taker in this tournament — before the start of Saturday’s matches — after claiming career-best 5-30 against Australia last Wednesday. An in-form Amir is a handful for all opposing teams, just as he was when he dismantled India in the Champions Trophy final at The Oval in 2017 with three major strikes upfront.

Rohit Sharma
India

NOBODY has scored three double ODI centuries other than Rohit Sharma. The 32-year-old has emerged as a formidable opener in an star-studded line-up and has already scored a hundred in this World Cup and was India’s second highest run-getter four years ago. Now the vice-captain, Rohit has definitely come a long away after an uncertain start to an international career which is improving with time. Pakistan need to dismiss him very early to put India under pressure.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2019