Dubai: Pakistan can bowl India out but may lack the runs to win this Sunday’s Champions Trophy opener at Edgbaston, according to former pace legend Waqar Younis.

The green shirts are viewed as underdogs heading into the tournament following a spate of retirements, but Younis, who is in Dubai as a Champions Trophy pundit for OSN, is hopeful nevertheless.

“Pakistan have got the bowling to challenge any team,” said Younis, who took 373 wickets in Tests and 416 scalps in ODIs for Pakistan between 1989 to 2003. “They have youngsters who are pretty good in Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir, so they’ve a good bowling attack, but the question is do they have it in them to put runs on the board?

“That will be a big ask, they’ve got experience in Shoaib Malek and Mohammad Hafeez, but Umar Akmal has gone back,” he added of the latter, who has been sent home after failing a fitness test. “So they’ve got that, but you can’t really say they are worldbeaters at the moment.

“On paper, India start as favourites but Pakistan have always done well against India in the Champions Trophy, so you can’t write them off.”

The two sides have met three times in Champions Trophy history with Pakistan having two wins to India’s one, but out of the two sides only India have gone on to actually win the tournament, once as joint winners in 2002 and then 2013.

“It’s better to come in as underdogs as that will take the pressure off them a little bit, but India-Pakistan games are always high pressure and you can’t control that.

“Youth, inexperience, all these things that might go against Pakistan will all go out the window in an India-Pakistan match as soon as the first ball is bowled. All the pressure will then be relieved and it will come down to who plays better on the day.

“Pakistan are unpredictable and on any given day, they can beat any side. I hope they start well and get momentum with them. If they can beat India in the first game, watch out for them.”

Younis added that the lack of international cricket coming to Pakistan after the 2009 Sri Lanka team bus attack in Lahore had affected the quality of the next generation of players.

“It’s definitely taking its toll. We’ve struggled and we’ve not really been getting the product we’ve been looking for, for the last 10 years.

“Youngsters, who we are supposed to be grooming earlier on, are taking longer to come through, but the Pakistan Super League played one game in Pakistan last season and, hopefully, next year there will be more. The foot is in the door, we just need it to open. It could still take a while yet but it will come good.”

He also called for the return of the bilateral series between India and Pakistan, despite ongoing political tension.

“Cricket is the only game that brings the two countries together. I’ve always said they should play a lot more as there’s so much hunger for it. Both sides should start talking, it is sad because the public miss out.”