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The arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to lock horns with each other yet again in the ongoing Asia Cup's Super Four clash on Sunday (September 4).
However both the teams dealt with major blows ahead of the ‘mother of all battles’. For India, Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the remainder of the Asia Cup and is reportedly doubtful for the upcoming T20 World Cup fwhile for Pakistan, Shahnawaz Dahani is out of the Super Four clash against the Men In Blues.
Meanwhile, one the eve of the high-octane slugfest between India and Pakistan, India's head coach Rahul Dravid in a pre-match press conference gave a clarity on the Jadeja's availability in the T20 World Cup in Australia next month as he also analysed Virat Kohli's batting along with other major issues.
Ravindra Jadeja injury?
Jadeja has injured his knee. He is ruled out of the Asia Cup. He is under the care of medical experts. There is still some time for the World Cup. We dont'want to rule him in or out. We have to manage him. A lot will depend on the rehab and severity of the injury. I don't want to rule him out and make too many comments until we have a better idea.
How are you doing their preparation?
Asia Cup is a big preparation for us. It is a very important tournament. Some key players are missing. Other teams are also missing some key players. It does not stop us from preparing or using this as a good opportunity to build and grow for the team for the World Cup. It gives us the opportunity to look at other players who are vying for spots and how they perform. We know that hopefully once Bumrah, Harshal and Jadeja are back, we can respond and react to that. If we have to miss out, then we have developed other players and build a back-up. That has been our endeavour. We are looking to build a bigger pool of players. The type of challenges posed by COVID and injuries, you need backups and people who can step in any situation. You have to create such squads. We love to have our experience and all the best guys playing all the time but that might not happen.
Off-spinners role in T20s?
We are lucky to have the best in our side. Ash is the best in the world. There are not too many. The off-spinner from Hong Kong bowled brilliantly upfront and in the death. Not many players are playing off-spinners. They are preferring legspin. They are valuable in the T20 format for obvious reasons. They can spin both ways. It does not expose them to left-handers. It is just a phase. There are a few around. Hopefully, we may be lucky to play and Ash can step in when required.
Virat Kohli's progress?
The talk that happens between players and coaches, I will never say it to the media. We are talking about the best restaurants in Dubai. He played very well. He is happy after coming back from a break. He is fresh and looking forward to playing every game. He is always on and it was not that he was not looking forward. It is good he has got a chance where he can spend time in the middle. He can kick on and have a good tournament. It is not about how many runs he makes. People are obsessed with his statistics. It is about the contributions at different stages of the game. It need not be a century or a stat. It all depends on the role and what the team needs. Virat wants to put big performances and will be happy if he does that.
India under pressure vs Pakistan?
It is just a match. Life will move on. Pakistan are a good time. It will be a packed stadium. There is an edge to these games. You get tested in these games. If there are some questions on your team, they get answered. Pakistan's bowling is good and it will be a challenge. If we play more high pressure games, we will get better. Every team is good. Such tournaments are important before the World Cup. There is a certain amount of pressure to win these tournaments and that gives you the edge.
Pak bowlers under pressure?
The Pak bowlers have bowled well but our batters have also batted well. There is quality in the team. Naseem Shah bowled well. We have good batters who can counter them. We focus more on ourselves rather than the opposition. If we prepare our players well and put them in a state of mind, we can do well against any opposition.
Avesh update?
Pakistan are a good bowling side. We restricted them to 147. Numbers might show high pace . Bowling analysis is important. You are judged by the results. Bowling analysis of our fast bowlers was superb. We have a good bowling attack that produces results. Avesh is unwell and a little bit of fever. He was not at practice. Hopefully, he is not too serious and he could be available tomorrow.
Workload management?
Key here is we are well-prepared. We have looked to manage the workload. Unless there is a niggle, injury, we always wanted to come here and play the best possible XI. Next 4 games, We are looking to play our best sides. There is not going to be anything forced on us. We are trying to win this tournament. From now on till the World Cup, we will be wanting to play the best squad.
How will you overcome the challenge of leaving the best out?
It is a pleasant headache to have. We want to have a backup for every position. Anyone can have an injury anytime. We have tried to do that. There are some people who are not in the 15 who have done really well. They also know that only 15 players can go for the World Cup. We have to communicate with them. You cannot keep everyone happy. It is not on performance. Whatever opportunities you got, you might have played well. But, the team composition and the senior who did well before, you cannot ignore that. We have difficult conversations. The 15 we selected and the 5-6 players whom I have had a discussion, it has not been easy. They have performed. Players are wise to understand. When we select a playing 11, we have quality sitting out. A batsman, bowler and spinner is sitting out. We have to be clear with out communication.
Conditions into account while selecting playing combinations?
We are focused on playing in these conditions. The purpose of building a balanced squad is to play in any condition. That is the effort. We want to build a squad that can play in any conditions. We might succeed in every area. 1-2 areas, we may not have the perfect selection of skills. We want to cover most bases. We are looking at the game tomorrow and the conditions we might encounter. At the back of your mind, you have Australia. Focus is on tomorrow.
Is Dinesh Karthik or Pant the 1st choice?
We play the conditions and situations on that given day. There is NO first choice playing well. This is the XI we will play it is not like that. It will change according to the situation. We felt DK was the right choice. It will be difficult to leave everyone out. There will be people who will be upset with that. We focus on what we want to pick which is the best XI. We want to have a squad culture and anybody can play in any situation.
Experimentation?
I am not experimenting. Why do people feel that? If one player is injured, I have to try different players. Conditions dictate that. Certain oppositions force us to play players with different skills sets. We are not thinking of this as an experiment. We have talked about workload management. We have had to rotate the players and build the bench strength. The Asia Cup ideally should have been the ideal piece before the big event. It is not exactly the same squad that will go to the World Cup. Bumrah and Harshal walk straight back in. We are clear with the squad.
Playing together for 1st time?
We have talked about playing positive cricket. We have to be smart. It is ensuring par-plus scores. Depends what is the par in certain conditions. We do not want to be below-par. We have seen some challenging wickets. Whatever the conditions we are confronted, we want to par-plus. When you are chasing, you chase a total in front of you. The guys are keen to go about achieving that. We might not succeed all the time. We want to play cricket that T20 cricket demands.
T20 template?
I watched Surya play that innings and it was phenomenal. 20-20 as a format where you can take risks and play different shots. You see more creativity and audacity. Someone who has not played that much of ODI cricket, the way how the game has evolved. IPL and other leagues, to see the level of skill in both bat and ball is simply phenomenal. The execution of wide yorkers, slow balls is top class. The more you practice and play important.
India's Asia Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Pakistan's Asia Cup squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammed Hasnain, Hasan Ali.
