Returning to United Arab Emirates for the Asia Cup 2018 after 12 long years, India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma exuded confidence when he addressed the media along with captains of the other nations. “We are very happy to be back here. Of late we have played some great cricket and I hope this turns out to be a great learning opportunity ahead of the World Cup,” Rohit was quoted as saying at the media gathering on Friday.
India will take arch-rivals Pakistan on September 19 after 15 months. They last locked horns with each other in the ICC Champions Trophy final in London in June last year. Rohit said that they are just focusing on the job at hand though everybody is eagerly waiting for the Indo-Pak tie.
Sharma praised the rivals saying they have done well in the recent past. “It is always exciting to play Pakistan, they have been great lately and have played very good cricket,” he said.
Quizzed on India’s chances to win the cup, Rohit again showed confidence, but not arrogance. “Every team will be eyeing the title and every team has its own strengths. It is going to be a competitive tournament,” Rohit said, adding that this is the first full tour he is leading the side and didn’t hide his excitement.
The other teams participating in the Asia Cup are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. India will start their campaign on September 18 with the clash against minnows Hong Kong before taking on Pakistan the following day. This edition of Asia Cup will commence with a tie involving Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Saturday.
Meanwhile, former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be donning the India jersey after the ODIs against England where he was booed for slowing down the run rate. India’s most successful captain would surely like to forget that and play a crucial part in India success in the Asia Cup.
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