India captain Rohit Sharma opened up on the Asia Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan, addressing a host of topics like the Men in Blue's chances of winning the match and their preparations ahead of the tournament.
But the biggest talking point during the press conference was the contest between India's star-studded batting lineup which will be put to test against Pakistan's fiery pacers at the Pallekele International Stadium on Saturday.
India's Batting Brilliance vs Pakistan's Fiery Pace
The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer will have to deal with the Pakistani pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who have troubled the Indian batters in the past.
They had used the pacers to great effect during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE to defeat India and will look to do the same when they lock horns in Kandy.
India's Approach to Tackle Lethal Bowling Unit
Talking about how India plans to tackle the opposition's bowling unit, Rohit said that his batters will look to use their past experiences to deal with Afridi, Rauf and Shah.
"We don't have Shaheen, Naseem or Rauf in the nets. We practice with who we have. They are all quality bowlers. We just have to use our experience to play them tomorrow.
"As a top order batter, it's my job to ensure the team gets a good start and I stay till the long. I'll try to use all my experience of 16 years and work on my risk taking game," Rohit Sharma told reporters.
Historical Advantage and Present Equality
The Men in Blue have the numbers in their favour with a 9-6 advantage over Pakistan in Asia Cup encounters.
They have also won the last four out of five ODIs against their arch-rivals but come September 2, none of the past records and stats will matter as both teams are looking equally strong ahead of the marquee clash.
Rohit's Perspective on Challenges Ahead
"It will be a good challenge for us to play against a team like Pakistan. We have prepared well, we still have one more day to train. Hopefully we will be able to play according to our plans against Pakistan.
"Pakistan have played really well in recent times in T20Is and ODIs. They worked really hard to be No.1 (in ODIs), so it'll be a good challenge for us tomorrow," Rohit added.
