KL Rahul, the Indian vice-captain, said his team is excited at the prospect of facing Pakistan. “We always look forward to the India-Pakistan clash because we don’t play each other anywhere else, [except] in these big tournaments. It’s a great challenge to compete against a good team like Pakistan.”
The weight of history and rivalry revs up the intensity of India-Pakistan clashes. That seeps into the minds of the players.
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The weight of history and rivalry revs up the intensity of India-Pakistan clashes. That seeps into the minds of the players.
Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/icc/asia-cup-2022-indian-cricketers-are-excited-ahead-of-the-game-against-pakistan-1.90144487
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #cricketnews #asiacup2022
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NewsTranscript
00:00For now, we're all very excited as players and as an Indian team as well.
00:05We always look forward to this India-Pakistan clash because we don't
00:09play each other anywhere else but these big tournaments.
00:13So it's always an exciting time and it's a great challenge for all of us to
00:18compete against a good team like Pakistan.
00:20And as we've seen, there's a huge history.
00:24There's always been rivalry and the games have always been high intensity.
00:31So as players, we've all dreamt of playing India-Pakistan
00:34and it's a great opportunity for all of us to challenge ourselves, like I said.
00:38Losing any game in a World Cup always hurts you a little bit.
00:45It was the first game of the World Cup and we were all very excited.
00:49Obviously, every team enters a World Cup or enters a big tournament
00:52wanting to win and wanting to start well.
00:54Unfortunately, it didn't happen for us.
00:57We were outplayed by a really strong Pakistan team.
01:01We get an opportunity once again to play against them.
01:05It's a contest that we're all looking forward to and we're all eager to go out there.
01:11The game starts from zero.
01:14There might be a history of how many times we've played, how many times each team has won.
01:19But it doesn't count for anything.
01:22It will always start from zero.
01:24So both the teams are going to be excited and eager to play against each other.
01:32It's the first game of the tournament again.
01:35So either team will want to start really well.
01:39So same for us as an Indian team.
01:40I will not judge how well I'm batting.
01:43I want to challenge myself in the middle and this tournament obviously gives that opportunity.
01:48We don't really give much importance to them.
01:51It doesn't really affect a player and especially a world-class player like Virat
01:56obviously will not be affected by what people are saying on the outside.
02:00He's obviously had a little bit of a break.
02:02I was at home for two months injured.
02:04I didn't feel like he looked out of form or out of touch.
02:09He was batting really well.
02:10Obviously, he's obviously not been able to get that much.
02:15And I'm sure he's hungry as well to come out and win matches for the country.
02:19And that is what he's always done throughout his career.
02:22His mindset has always been to win matches for his country.
02:24His mindset always remains the same.
02:26So if a player is in that mindset, I'm sure that good things will happen.
02:30And we all eagerly want Virat to get back to the Virat Kohli form that everybody is talking.
02:40We are not worried as an Indian team.
02:41I'm sure he's not worried.
02:42We all want to get some game time.
02:45Obviously, our main aim is World Cup by World Cup.
02:49If all the batters are in good nick, have gotten enough game time as bowlers,
02:53they've played enough matches,
02:54they've got enough confidence leading into the World Cup,
02:57that is our plan and that is our idea.
02:59And that is what we'll look to do as individuals and as a team.
03:03This new approach, we'd spoken about it much before,
03:09even when I was part of the team earlier on in the year as well.
03:12And just after the World Cup last season,
03:15we'd spoken about how we need to improve individually
03:19and how, as a team, we're going to try to be more aggressive
03:22and put the bowlers under pressure
03:25or go out there and play with a lot of authority and freedom and aggression.
03:30So I was there when that happened.
03:32Unfortunately, I've not been able to play too many T20Is since then.
03:36But we played the IPL and I tried to play with the same approach,
03:40try to see how with that new approach,
03:42I can still be consistent and still contribute to the team.
03:45And yeah, I've played a few games.
03:48Obviously, the last two, three months, I haven't played a lot of games.
03:51So that is a challenge for me and that is what I'm looking forward to.
03:56And yeah, so it's done really well for us, the new approach,
04:01whatever the team wanted or whatever the captain needed
04:04has been embraced by everybody, every player in the team,
04:07which is great to see.
04:08And that is the biggest step.
04:10And that biggest step has already been taken and embraced by the players.
04:15So from now on, it's only about building on it and getting stronger.
04:19And by the World Cup time, everyone knows exactly what to do.
04:22In big tournaments, even in the past, it's not just us, any team.
04:30If TOS does play such a big part, then that is what it is.
04:36You understand as teams and you want to prepare for it.
04:38So after the World Cup, we've gone back.
04:41If you go back and look at the tournaments or the series
04:44that we've played in bilateral series,
04:46we've challenged ourselves as a team to win the TOS and bat first
04:49and put ourselves in those situations where we prepare ourselves
04:53for big tournaments like this or the World Cup.
04:56And that was the goal and that was the vision and we've done it.
05:00So that gives us a bit more confidence when you keep doing something
05:06repeatedly over a period of time,
05:08is when you feel confident as an individual and as a team.
05:11So since we've done that, that is not going to be on our mind.
05:16If we're put into bat first, we'll try to do our best again.
05:19And because we've played games previously
05:23and we've learned from our mistakes,
05:24obviously, we are going to make mistakes.
05:27It's never going to end.
05:27We'll always keep making mistakes.
05:30But at least we understand how to pace our innings
05:32and what we need to do if the ball is moving
05:34or if we're put into bat first,
05:36how do we need to go about our innings, which we have done.
05:40So again, we still have a few games till the World Cup
05:43and all these things are going to be part of our preparation.
05:45And that is what we look forward to doing.
05:48You can't shy away from it or you can't run away from it.
05:51And as youngsters, we've always looked forward to being in such clashes.
05:55And when you get an opportunity to be in a clash like in India-Pakistan,
06:03I've been part of it a couple of times in 2019 World Cup and last year.
06:06So once you cross the rope, it just becomes a game of bat and ball.
06:12You see the opposition as an opposition
06:14and you try to be your best on that particular day
06:18and you try to focus on yourself more than the opposition.
06:22And I'm sure it is the same mindset as players for either of the teams, either side.
06:26But apart from that, I think we still remain players.
06:32Whether it is Indian players, Pakistani players,
06:35we've all obviously we love this game.
06:37We played this sport and obviously played them.
06:39I played against a few of them in the under-19 World Cups
06:42and I've followed their careers over the years.
06:46And it's just great to see that after so many years,
06:49they're living their dream of playing for their country.
06:53We're living our dream of playing for our country.
06:55And before the game starts or after the game is done,
06:59everything goes away and you become normal players and normal people.
07:03And you try to learn from each other, talk to each other,
07:06share each other's experiences.
07:07And it's always been friendly that way.
07:10He's a world-class bowler, he's a quality bowler.
07:12And left-arm seamers right now in world cricket are the most dangerous
07:18and they're causing most trouble for the batter.
07:21So if they played, it would have been a good experience for us
07:25playing against a quality bowler like that
07:27and challenging ourselves.
07:29But unfortunately, he's injured.
07:32It's a very frustrating time for a player.
07:34And the pain you go through and the frustration of missing games,
07:39especially such a big tournament.
07:41Even he would have wanted to be part of this
07:45or even he would have wanted to play the India-Pakistan game.
07:49So you just share a little bit of concern.
07:53We've tried to prepare each player the best possible way.
07:57The same with bowlers.
07:59I think Rohit and Rahul Bhai have been very clear
08:01that they've allowed players to challenge themselves in the middle,
08:06make mistakes, not be worried about making mistakes.
08:09They've given them that freedom to learn from their own mistakes,
08:12which is great to see.
08:13And that is how we always wanted to prepare
08:18and build a strong unit before the World Cup.
08:21Just to see that players were given opportunities again and again,
08:24even though they've had a couple of rough games was good to see.
08:27That is what takes a player from being a good player
08:30to an excellent player for the team.
08:32And as a player, you'll always start putting your team
08:35ahead of your personal goals.
08:37So that is where we wanted to be as a team.
08:40And I think we've done that really well
08:43in the last seven, eight months after the last World Cup.
08:47And we still have a month, month and a half till this World Cup.
08:52So we'll try to do that.
08:54And this is our learning from previous mistakes.
08:56And this is what we wanted to correct this time.