‘We can’t get too emotional about it because then certain decisions can be reckless’- Vice Captain Hardik Pandya ahead of Asia Cup 2023
Indian cricket team vice-captain Hardik Pandya recently opened up about his excitement about India’s participation in the Asia Cup 2023. Pandya believes that every tournament is always backed by fans and their emotions. However, the team needs to focus on the practicality and the game instead of being driven away by emotions to have a rational approach towards every opponent.
His comments came ahead of India’s Asia Cup opener against arch-rivals Pakistan. The two powerful cricketing nations will meet in Kandy on September 2. The No. 1 ODI team thrashed Nepal on Wednesday by 238 runs and will come in as a confident unit. Meanwhile, India have brought back their key players in the squad and are aiming for a good start to their campaign.
“A lot of emotions are attached by fans. For us, it is about playing a good team, playing a match against a very good side who has done very well in the recent past. Couple of finals they’ve played and the tension between us is always there. So, for me, we try to keep the outside noise outside, and we focus on how we can play good cricket. At the end of the day, we are cricketers,” Pandya said.
ODI is a game where you have to adapt: Pandya
Pandya also discussed the differences between the T20 format and the ODI format of the game. According to him, the ODI format gives the players plenty of time to adapt to the prevailing conditions, play and plan their moves accordingly. The star all-rounder believes that mega-events like the Asia Cup and the World Cup bring out good character in players.
“We can’t get too emotional about it because then certain decisions can be reckless, which I don’t believe in. But, at the same point of time, it’s a mega event. It’s an event which I’ve seen how it checks your character, checks your personality, and at the same point in time, you can see in how deep waters you can swim. So for me, all these factors excite me a lot and yeah, I can’t wait,” he added.
“It’s just that you have a little more time than what you think. I believe in T20 as well, you have more time than you think, but at the same time, ODI is a much longer game. It is a game where you have to adapt, you have to get used to the conditions because the game is going on for 50 overs, and to play, to win against a good side, you have to play a good 100 overs of cricket. That’s when you win the game,” the 29-year-old concluded.
