India will face off against Pakistan in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 on October 23 in Melbourne, Australia.

While injuries have emerged in the Indian players, Pakistan has been boosted by the return of Shaheen Afridi, who was sidelined for a long time due to an injury and subsequent rehabilitation. 

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In the past, the left-arm pacer has been a real danger for India's top order. 

While his match fitness will be evaluated in the coming days, if he is fit in time for the mega-match against India, he could turn over the whole match as he quickly gains pace and confidence whenever he plays against India.

Gautam Gambhir, former Indian opener, discussed how Indian batters should try to keep Shaheen at bay.

"When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don't look to survive. Look to score runs from him. Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small. Whether it's your backlift, whether it's your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can't look to survive," Gautam Gambhir said.

"I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it. India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi, he maintained.

Irfan Pathan, former Indian player said: "Look, one thing is clear. When you play at the MCG, the straight boundaries are not that big. It's the side boundaries that are massive. Obviously, India needs to be smart, especially the batting. Probably, it will be difficult to hit the side boundaries, so they have to play the gaps and probably convert the twos into threes and ones into twos, because running between the wickets will very important."