Captain Rohit Sharma has admitted that India still need some answers before the ODI World Cup and they will seek them during the ongoing Asia Cup. Rohit and Co. will start their campaign on September 2 against arch-rivals but they still look unsettled for the ODI WC as there are still uncertainties over their team combination.
However, Rohit suggested that it would be unfair to term the Asia Cup as a preparatory tournament for the ODI WC.
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“It is a good tournament for us. We played it last year before the World Cup too. It’s a good tournament where your skills, playing under pressure – everything will be tested. I won’t call it a preparatory tournament – it doesn’t sound right. There are a few answers we will be seeking from the tournament. It is the right time for us to play this tournament. The team’s focus is to do well in the Asia Cup,” Rohit told Sports Journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel.
There are possibilities of India playing Pakistan thrice in the Asia Cup if both teams manage to reach the final. The fans will rejoice if that happens but Rohit said that it’s not right to call it a three-match series as any team can win Asia Cup. The Indian skipper pointed out that Sri Lanka won the title last year after playing quality cricket.
“It’s good for the fans to say something like this (three-match series against Pakistan). We played against them last time too but we should not say things like this as other teams are also playing in the tournament. Sri Lanka did well last year and won the Asia Cup. In tournaments like this any team can win so you have to be fully prepared. You can’t think things like we are going to play against one team only there are five more oppositions we have to think about them also,” he added.
The Asia Cup is also going to be a litmus test for premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah who recently made his comeback to competitive cricket on Ireland tour.
The skipper also talked about Bumrah’s comeback and said he worked hard at the NCA alongside Prasidh Krishna and they did well on Ireland tour.
“Playing after a long time it was good to see Jasprit Bumrah back on the ground. He is an important part of our team. It felt good he and Prasidh Krishna played two matches on the Ireland tour and bowled well there which is a good sign for us. They worked hard in the NCA during the rehabilitation period,” he added.
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Meanwhile, Rohit suggested that India need a player like Bumrah but to win a multi-nation tournament the collective effort is necessary.
“It would be very unfair for me to just talk about one player because this is a team and we need contributions from everybody. Yes, there will be important contributions from certain players but we need to keep an eye on everybody. To win a tournament you need a collective effort,” he added.
Rohit suggested that he doesn’t want to put any type of pressure on Bumrah by setting expectations.
“I am happy, he has returned to competitive cricket after an injury lay-off. It is difficult to stay out of the game for a long duration. I don’t want him to be put under pressure by setting expectations. Pressure and expectations will always be there when you play for India. It is important to focus on the team’s strategy and goal,” he concluded.
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