India’s T20I captain Shreyas Iyer said when there are expectations, you want to deliver ahead of the quarterfinal clash in the Asian Games against Afghanistan. India are favorites to win the gold medal at the continental event and would look to replicate their success after their win at the 2023 Asian Games.
India recently thrashed Afghanistan by 3-0 while playing in Delhi. However, Iyer’s team nearly lost against Japan in the historic one-off game.
India’s women team has already won the gold medal in Japan and the men team would look to follow suit.
“See, when you represent India, there are always expectations that you have to finish at the top. And that is a good pressure. When there are expectations, you want to deliver,” Iyer said at the pre-match press conference.
“But at the same time, I feel that we should not think much about the outcome. We have set a standard as a team. We keep trying to transcend that standard in every match.”
The Indian skipper said they can not afford to be complacent in the Asian Games against any team.
“Not only Afghanistan, any team in the Asian Games,” Iyer said. “Japan gave us a very good competition, because the wicket here cannot be set to a particular standard. As I said earlier, it is very important to adapt. It will be challenging and difficult for every team.”
Rain affected India’s practice session in Nagoya, but Iyer refused to use it as an excuse.
“Yes, it is raining. We cannot give that as a reason, because we have decided that we are a bunch of professionals, and such hurdles will keep coming. Mentally, we have to be prepared irrespective of whatever the situation is going to be,” he said. “Tomorrow, we will try to adapt as soon as possible to the wickets. We will see how the weather is, but that is secondary. The primary importance is to come and play the match.
“Today when we woke up, we thought we would be getting a little bit of practice. We knew that we would be playing on turf. But as soon as we arrived, the rain started again. And it is not just normal rain, it’s torrential downpour.
“We were able to maximise a little bit in terms of our warm-up, and just breathe the fresh air around the stadium and get the feel of it. On the turf, even though it was pouring a little bit, we tried to get some knocking. The bowlers did some strides in the outfield and bowled a couple of overs. So we are trying to maximise the best we could.”
India would look to bring their best against Afghanistan.
