Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar feels that the result of the Champions Trophy clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan would depend on the performance of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Yousuf.
"Big players like Tendulkar and Yousuf are great because they perform in the big events. Tomorrow they would be under a lot of pressure and it would be a test of their experience and skills to see how they contribute for their teams," he said.
"There is pressure on all the players because an Indo-Pak match is always a big event and every player wants to perform a big feat and become an overnight hero. Such a match can turn a player into a hero or zero very quickly so the pressure and intensity levels are always high," he added.
Interestingly, Akhtar said he could sense internal problems in the Indian team ahead of Saturday's match.
"I don't know but as a professional cricketer I don't see the smoothness or closeness in the Indian team that was visible in the last few years," Akhtar said.
"In the last few months you can sense things are not right in the Indian team although I don't know the reasons for this," he said.
Akhtar, who played in the 2003 World Cup match against India at the Centurion which Pakistan lost, predicted a high scoring match.
"The Centurion pitch is traditionally good for batting and help the spinners as well so I think the slow bowlers from both sides could play a decisive role," said Akhtar.
Akhtar said pacer Mohammad Asif should be fielded against India despite the fact he has not played competitive cricket for last 16 months.
"Asif should play. I don't care even if they have taken his dope test. The dope test results will come after a week. He is a match winner and if I was captain I would definitely gamble on him in such a high profile fixture," the Rawalpindi pacer said.
He also advised the team management not to drop Yousuf if captain Younis Khan returns to the side after missing the first match.
