Watch: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul speak on ‘Battle Royale’ against Pakistan; BCCI shares special video
Team India members - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya - spoke their thoughts ahead of the clash against Pakistan at Asia Cup 2022.
The stage is set and cricket fans across the globe are ready to witness a much anticipated “Battle Royale” between Asia's biggest giants - India and Pakistan. The two will open their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium, the same venue where they last met during the T20 World Cup last year.
The last time the results went in favour of Pakistan, who outplayed the Men In Blue in both the departments of the game and secured the match by 10 wickets. However, things have changed a lot and ahead of the high octane fixture, Team India members - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya - spoke their thoughts ahead of the clash. A video of the same was shared by BCCI on Sunday morning and here's what they had to say:
Rohit Sharma: “We will try and be in present. I think preparation wise we will not be short. We are not looking at the opposition at all. What we need to achieve as a group is more important than the opposition we play.”
KL Rahul: “It is a great opportunity for us to play these games and challenge ourselves. They've been a good team in the last couple of years, played some excellent cricket. Obviously it's a high pressure game and it'll continue to be.”
Virat Kohli: “As a player when you step into the field, it's any other game for you. Just the environment on the outside can pull you in. But that's for you to enjoy the excitement till the time you get to the park and then it's usual business.”
Suryakumar Yadav: “When I was growing up there has been lots of talk between the India-Pakistan games. People say it's the greatest rivalry, but when I and everyone go on the ground it's like we are playing just another game. When we enter the field all our preparations, all our routines what we've been doing for any other games it just reflects on the ground. So when I go on the ground it's all the same, I just try and stay in my zone and play the game.”
Ravindra Jadeja: “Focus yeh match mein zyada rehta hai, aur hum koshish karte hain ki hum apna performance deliver karein. Jitna ho sake utna acha khelne ki koshish kar sake (The focus is most on this match and we try to deliver, try to maximise our perfomance.)”
Rishabh Pant: “Yeh humesha ek hype-up match hota hain all the time, but as a player humlog bus ek hi cheez try karte hain ki apna 100 percent de match mein, kyunki pressure bahut hota hain India-Pakistan k match mein, expectation bahut sari badh jati hain (The hype has always been there but as a player our aim is to give 100 percent because the pressure is always there during India vs Pakistan matches and the expectations are always higher.)”
Hardik Pandya: “The hype is there outside, which we all understand as emotions attached to the game, and attached in this match as well2. Plus we have to make sure that we keep the outside noise outside and make sure we should be focusing on the things we should be focusing.”
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