India and Pakistan will lock horns with each other on August 28 in Dubai.
Since both nations don’t play each other in bilateral series, the craze for the game becomes unmatched. The last time they faced each other was during the T20 World Cup 2021, which saw Pakistan thrashing India by 10 wickets.
Amid the anticipation, India vice-captain KL Rahul on Friday (August 26) said that the Men in Blue are keen to perform well in their tournament opener against the Babar Azam-led side.
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"Every team wants to start an event like the World Cup with a win. Unfortunately, that did not happen for us last year. We were outplayed by a strong Pakistan team. So, it's a big opportunity (in Asia Cup) for us (to bounce back). It's a contest we are all looking forward to," Rahul said in a press conference.
Following the IPL 2022, KL Rahul underwent a sports hernia surgery in Germany, which ruled him out of the home T20I series against South Africa followed by the England and West Indies tours.
The right-hander was out of action for a few months before returning to the national side for the recently held Zimbabwe tour, where he led the team to 3-0 ODI series win and registered scores of 1 and 30 in two innings.
In fact, Rahul hasn't played any T20I this year and will need to start as an opener with an ultra-aggressive approach that the team has employed in recent times.
"I enter this tournament feeling a little more confident and I can focus on my skills. It does not matter how good I am batting in the nets. I want to challenge myself in the middle and this tournament gives opportunity," he said.
"For me, the Zimbabwe tour was quite important, post the injury. The series helped me understand how much I recovered. It gives you a lot of confidence and being out in the middle is always to assess your own form and how your body is feeling," he further stated.
KL Rahul acknowledged that one can’t run away from the emotions that the India-Pakistan clash brings.
"We are all very excited. As players, we always look forward to this India-Pakistan clash in big tournaments. It's a great challenge for all of us to compete against a good team," he said. "As we have seen, there is a huge history and rivalry. The games have always been high-intensity. As players we always look forward to play against us and it's a great opportunity for all of us, as I said.”
"Just like the fans, we also cannot run away the emotions that come naturally during these matches. As youngsters, we always looked forward to play such games."
"I have been part of such matches since 2019. Once you cross the rope, it becomes a game of bat and ball. You see the opposition as an opposition and try to be your best on that particular day and focus on your own self more than the opposition. That's what we will do once again," he further remarked.
Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Afridi won’t feature in the Asia Cup 2022 as he has been ruled out of the multi-nation tournament due to a knee injury.
Rahul said everyone in the Indian side were looking forward to face the left-arm fast bowler, who decimated them in the T20 World Cup encounter last year.
"Shaheen is a world class and quality bowler. Left-arm seamers in world cricket are the most dangerous ones. But, unfortunately he has been injured. We had it in our minds that we would face him once again since that World Cup clash. It would have been a great experience for all of us to face him once again," he said.
(With PTI inputs)