Result was not in our favour last time we played Pakistan, this time it will be different: India captain Rohit Sharma on facing arch-rivals in Asia Cup 2022
Pakistan might have had an upper hand over Men in Blue in recent matches, but India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed confidence that it will be different when the two teams meet in the upcoming Asia Cup later in August.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will clash with Babar Azam's Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai.
The last time the two sides met was at the T20 World Cup last year when India were handed a heavy 10-wicket defeat.
'A lot has changed'
"We played Pakistan last year in Dubai, where obviously the result did not go our way. But the team is playing differently now and has prepared differently, so a lot of things have changed from then. We need to assess the conditions, keep in mind the fact that we will be playing in 40-plus degrees (temperatures). We need to assess all those factors and prepare accordingly," Rohit said.
India, who are the defending champions, will be vying to win the continental showpiece for a record eighth time and the opening batsman said his side is ready to face any team.
"Similarly, in the Asia Cup, our focus will be on what to achieve as a team and not think about who we are facing -- be it Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. As a team, we are working on a few things ahead of the Asia Cup. We have to keep the process going." Rohit added.
With the T20 World Cup slated for later this year, Rohit said more or less, 80-90 per cent of your team is set.
Focus on T20 World Cup
"There are still about two-and-a-half months left for the T20 World Cup. Before that, we have the Asia Cup and two home series against Australia and South Africa. There could be three-four changes, if at all, depending on the conditions. As of now, we have been playing in India and will play in UAE, so the conditions in Australia will be different. We need to check what suits our team in Australia," said Rohit, adding that the team management is discussing ways to create a solid bench strength.
"(Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami and all these guys will not be with the Indian team forever, so you have to try and prepare the other guys. Myself and Rahul bhai (Dravid) spoke about how we are going to create our bench strength because that's going to be very crucial considering the amount of cricket we play, considering the injury factors and everything.
"We never want to be a team that relies on one or two individuals, we want to be a team where everyone can contribute and help the team win on their own. We want to be that kind of a team and that's why we want to give the youngsters as many opportunities as possible and of course, you have got senior players around them. They can be of good help."
