NEW YORK: India’s captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday expressed his belief that Pakistan can make a turnaround in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20I World Cup, stating that the Green Shirts played the final of the previous edition despite losing to Zimbabwe.
While speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the blockbuster T20I World Cup 2024 match between arch-rivals, scheduled on Sunday.
“This is the special nature of T20I cricket – anything can happen. Even in the last T20 World Cup, Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe, but it was eventually Pakistan in the final as well,” Rohit said.
“If the opposition lost the last match, that doesn’t mean they will lose again or play badly. will surely have analyzed their mistakes,” he added.
The Indian captain then denied the claims of having an advantage of knowing the conditions better than their opposition, considering the fact that India have played two matches – a warm-up against Bangladesh and their campaign opener against Ireland – at the newly-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
“In New York, the conditions and opportunities will be the same for both teams. We have been here for just six or seven days; this is not our home ground,” Rohit said.
“The team that plays well will win; it doesn’t matter who arrived in New York first. We don’t know what the wicket will be like,” he added.
Rohit Sharma further reiterated the need for the players to play to their full potential.
“No matter the pitch or the opponent, we have to play our best cricket. We have discussed the game plan for the match against Pakistan and we will play according to the situation.
“The team is full of experienced players, and we expect the best from them. We cannot rely on just one or two players; all eleven have to play their part.”
Out of seven matches played thus far between the arch-rivals, India emerged victorious six times while Pakistan tasted triumph only once.
The two teams boast contrasting momentums as India eased past Ireland by eight wickets in the campaign opener while Pakistan succumbed to a humiliating defeat against the USA.
Pakistan Squad for T20I World Cup
Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub.
India Squad for T20I World Cup
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
