India Playing Differently From Last Time We Played Against Pakistan: Rohit Sharma Ahead Of Asia Cup 2022

Indian captain Rohit Sharma pointed out the difference in approach of the Indian team from the last time they played against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021 and to present as the Men in Blue will begin preparation for the Asia Cup 2022 in UAE.

India and Pakistan will begin their campaign in the Asia Cup on August 28 in Dubai, the same venue where Pakistan decimated the Indian team in the T20 World cup 2021 by 10 wickets, handing them their first defeat in World Cup tournaments against their arch-rivals.

Rohit Sharma, who was the vice-captain of the Indian team then, said that though the result did not go their way when they faced their arch-rivals Pakistan at the T20 World Cup, he stressed India is playing a different brand of cricket in the shortest format of the game.

“Asia Cup is happening after a long time, but we played Pakistan last year in Dubai, where obviously the result did not go our way. But the Asia Cup is different now. The team is playing differently and has prepared differently, so a lot of things have changed from then.

But for us, we need to assess the conditions, keep in mind the fact that we will be playing in 40-plus degrees. We need to assess all those factors and prepare accordingly,” Rohit said on the sidelines of a promotional event in Mumbai.

We Will Focus On Things We Need To Do As A Team: Rohit Sharma

India had failed to make it into the semifinals of that event last year and this led to Virat Kohli stepping down as India captain and Rohit Sharma taking over since then, the Indian team is on a winning spree. India have won 7 series on the trot since the T20 World Cup last year, losing just 4 matches in the said period.

Rohit has often spoken about the conscious change in approach and the need to be more proactive with the bat in the powerplay and the middle overs. This intent was seen recently in the T20I series against England and West Indies, which India won by margins of 2-1 and 4-1 respectively.

Rohit said India’s focus in the Asia Cup will be on executing their plans and not on the opposition.

“My thought has always been that we will not focus on the opponent, but we will continue to play our game. We played against West Indies, England and in both cases, we did not think about who our opposition was, but we focused on things that we had to do as a team and what we had to achieve. 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,” Rohit said.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: A Little Bit Nervous, But There Is No Reason To Worry – Rishabh Pant Ahead Of India-Pakistan Clash