The hard-hitting Shahid Afridi is known to speak his mind and he has taken on the mantle of Pakistan captain after Younis Khan's injury.

Afridi, in his avatar as captain, seems to like speaking his mind, especially when the topic is Sachin.

When asked whether Sachin Tendulkar was still a threat to Pakistan, Afridi said, "In case of Sachin, you are talking about him in the form he was in 2003. This is 2009."

India have been lucky to have beaten Pakistan in all the ICC events, said all-rounder Shahid Afridi, oozing confidence that his team would buck the trend this time by getting the better of their traditional rivals in the ongoing Champions Trophy.

"So far, luck has been with India. Hopefully, it would all change this time around," said Afridi, who is also vice-captain of his side in the eight-nation event.

Pakistan will take on India in a Group B clash at Centurion on Saturday.

Looking back at the 2003 World Cup match between the two sides, which Pakistan lost, Afridi said a lot has changed and his team is a lot better than what it was at that time. "That was 2003. This is 2009. It's been six years. We are a very good one-day side now. We not only have good batting but our bowling is also exceptional," said Afridi.

Indians, along with hosts South Africa, are claimants to the world's best one-day batting side tag but Afridi said Pakistan are no less.

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