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Rohit Sharma said on a day when his illustrious predecessor Virat Kohli admitted to have felt "down" for a month. During a chat with 'Star Sports', Kohli spoke about how he had to "fake intensity" in order to conceal that he was feeling "mentally down". He said he did not touch a bat for a month for the first time in 10 years post the England tour.
Asia Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma said they just want to focus on their game as players and will aim for one match at a time. India will take on Pakistan on Sunday in their opening game of the T20I tournament. "When we are on the ground, fans want to see the match as well as meet players. As far as the rivalry is concerned when two quality teams play then we see a good match. As players, we just want to focus on our game. Our batting coach decides who will bat in the nets. Virat Kohli has looked in good touch. We have prepared hard for it," Rohit Sharma said in a press conference. "The mood in the camp is buzzing. What has happened is past. Take one game at a time. We will be focusing on that. We want to focus on the game. We have not decided on playing eleven. We will look at the pitch and decide accordingly," he added.
The wait is almost over as arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off in the Group A match of the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday in Dubai. It would be interesting to see how both teams perform in front of a jam-packed stadium and how both units hold their nerve. Ahead of the match, India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday addressed a press conference where he spoke about the morale within the group, the preparation for the match and what do India-Pakistan matches mean to him.
The Asia Cup starts later on Saturday with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in Dubai. However, all eyes will be on the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on Sunday. Ahead of the match, India captain Rohit Sharma and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam came face to face. In a video shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Rohit and Babar can be seen having a lengthy chat. Both skippers could be seen all smiles as they chatted away.
Pakistan is now restricted to just multi-nation events. In many ways, because it's become a rarity now, an India vs Pakistan cricket match is a more eagerly anticipated encounter these days. In the previous contest that took place between the arch-rivals during the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE, Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets in a Super-12 fixture and as the two countries get set for another round of mouth-watering battles in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which will be played in the T20 format, India will be looking to bounce back strong. On paper, the Men in Blue are a far stronger and well-balanced side than Pakistan. Since the T20 World Cup last year, quite a few things have changed, especially for Team India. New skipper Rohit Sharma's aggressive approach in the shortest format will be up for a stiff test while Pakistan, who have only played 3 T20I series since that 2021 clash vs India, will be looking to get back in the groove ahead of this year's T20 World Cup. With the teams ranked World number 1 (India) and 3 (Pakistan) getting ready to lock horns on Sunday (August 28), TimesofIndia.com here compares the strengths of both the teams across all the departments which are likely to be match-winning factors: Top-orderIndia:Over the years, one of the key highlights of an India-Pakistan clash has been the face-off between India batters and the Pakistan fast bowlers. Barring a handful of aberrations, the Indian top-order has been one of the most feared in world cricket. Pakistan, on the other hand, in the last few years have made remarkable improvements in their batting and today carry one of the most flamboyant top-order batters in their line-up.
Rohit Sharma said a few days ago that 80-90% of the squad is settled. Even though the trend post Covid is to carry 18 players, including three stand-byes, Rohit was probably talking about the final 15 who will be part of the World Cup team. The Indian team has quite a few T20s scheduled in the next couple of months, starting with the Asia Cup, and it’s the perfect platform for the fringe players to make an impression. If there are no last-minute injuries, the certainties for the World Cup are Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah. That leaves four spots and there are about nine contenders, eight being part of the Asia Cup touring party (including stand-byes). Sanju Samson is not part of the team, but he will come into the discussion later. TOI takes a look at the fringe players who will be looking to make a mark in Asia Cup and stake a claim for the World Cup. TOI looks at fringe players who are eager to make an impact in Asia Cup and make the cut for T20 World Cup.
Asia Cup, beginning Saturday, the most closely fought edition ever. Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has already predicted the six-team tournament as having the potential to showcase quality that has never been seen before. Leaving aside the lone qualifier Hong Kong, the five other teams including record seven-time champions India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can beat each other on their day. The tournament, which is being staged in the T20 format after six years, had to be moved to the UAE after hosts Sri Lanka expressed their inability to organise it back home amid the economic crisis faced by the island nation.
Cricket fans will be in for a treat when India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. The Asia Cup will also mark the return of Virat Kohli to the Indian side. Kohli, who has struggled to score runs of late, was rested for the white-ball series against West Indies, and also the three ODIs in Zimbabwe. India, however, will miss the services of injured pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, while Mohammed Shami was not considered for selection.