Stand-in India captain Virat Kohli said on Sunday that his side will be hoping to put their disappointing tour of New Zealand behind them and start afresh in the upcoming Asia Cup.
India, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday, are coming off a below-par display in New Zealand, where they lost both the Test and ODI series. The Indians failed to win a single game against the Kiwis in two Tests and five one-day internationals, and Kohli stressed that he was looking forward to forgetting the recent experience and begin the Asia Cup campaign on a new note.
The Asia Cup will get underway on Tuesday, with India’s opening game scheduled a day later against hosts Bangladesh.
‘We didn’t have a great tour to New Zealand. You have a bad series after a few good series. You can change it around, you know, in this case as well,’ Kohli told reporters at a city hotel.
‘You just need one good game, one good performance and the momentum suddenly changes.’
‘This is a challenge that we would like to relish. I’m sure all these guys are up for the challenge. I’m sure their characters are going to be tested and they are going to come out with great intent on the field in the Asia Cup,’ he said.
Although India have won the Asia Cup a record five times, their last performance was not up to scratch as they were unable to reach the final.
‘Last time we could not make it [to the final]. We won two games out of three. We lost one game against Bangladesh and we went out of the tournament. I think we played pretty well. But that’s how it goes in a tournament like the Asia Cup,’ said the 25-year old.
Kohli went on to say that they will target the title this time around, and he also spoke about the red-hot clash against Pakistan on March 2.
‘Obviously we are here to win the tournament. We haven’t just come here to play one game and go back home, that’s not our aim. Our aim is to win every game that we play,’ said Kohli.
‘A game against Pakistan is always a hyped game for us, obviously a big pressure match. We take every game the same way. You know, the aim is to win the tournament, not just one game, and make sure the people are happy.’
‘We would like to go all the way and win this tournament,’ he said.
The right-handed batsman also sounded out a warning to his teammates about the hosts, who he said will once again pose a stern challenge.
‘[Bangladesh] are always a dangerous team in the one-day format. They can upset any opposition on any given day. And they’ve got quite a few street-smart cricketers,’ he said.
‘They’ve played a lot of one-day cricket in Bangladesh and they know their wickets, they know their conditions. Their spinners especially are very difficult to get away. We’ll be focussing on our plans and you can never take it easy against a team like Bangladesh,’ he concluded.
-With New Age input
