Aakash Chopra praises 'very special' Pakistan team

Former Indian batter-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has praised the Pakistan cricket team and labeled them as a "very special" T20 unit.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash discussed elements that make Pakistan a dangerous side to face in the shortest format of the game.

"Pakistan are producing top-quality T20 cricketers; the way these players play, it seems as if T20 cricket subsides in their DNA," Chopra said in a segment on his show called Super Over.

He credited tape-ball cricket which has contributed to Pakistani bowlers' development since their childhoods.

"Since a lot of tape-ball cricket is played in Pakistan, it helps them a lot as Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Shahnawaz Dahani all played lots of tape-ball from a young age. Most Pakistani bowlers have quick-arm actions and the batters do not shy away from hitting big because of the tape-ball cricket culture in the country," he said.

“T20 format is typically dominated by the team which has a good bowling attack and Pakistan always had, always have, and always will have a fierce bowling attack. Not only that, but they also have sheer quality in their batting department as well," the 44-year-old added.

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Aakash later praised how Pakistani batters adjust between the longest and shortest format of the game, citing examples of Babar Azam and Azhar Ali.

"Pakistani batters have always approached Test cricket differently and their transition between different formats is brilliant; just look at the likes of Babar Azam, Azhar Ali, and such," Aakash further stated.

In the following part of his Super Over segment, Aakash Chopra talked about Shaheen Shah Afridi having the potential to get wickets of the best players around the globe.

"Shaheen forces batsmen to play his deliveries with a squared stance, which opens up the opportunity for him to swing the ball back into the right-arm batters. His two deliveries against Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were worth watching," he concluded.