India’s captain Shreyas Iyer has opened up about the historic T20I against Japan. India will play against the Asian country at the Sano International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday for the first time in T20Is.

As the game is taking steps towards becoming more global, more countries are trying to rise through the ranks. India recently registered a comprehensive 3-0 win against Afghanistan while playing in Delhi.

Shreyas Iyer said in the pre-match press conference when he was asked if he ever thought he would play cricket in Japan, “No, I never thought about it, but yes, I mean, cricket is picking up in every country now, and all the teams are becoming dominant in their own ways, so I’m sure this will be an exciting match as well tomorrow,” he said.

Iyer was also asked about the difference between travelling to other cricketing countries as compared to travelling to Japan.

“Yes, definitely it’s completely different from what we’ve been used to doing in terms of going to Australia, England, New Zealand. It’s our very first time, and the culture and the people are very different in terms of how they are in terms of discipline. I’m someone who loves to embrace new culture and get used to the vibe and the accommodation as quickly as possible, so this is a new challenge for us, and definitely looking forward to it,” he explained.

The Indian skipper was also asked about the possibility of playing in the Japan Premier League in the future.

“Well, we’ve seen the friendship between India and Japan has been going powerful for the last couple of years, so hopefully fingers crossed,” he replied.

Iyer would look to lead from the front against Japan.