Virat Kohli's absence will be beneficial for us: Babar Azam

Dubai International Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Pakistan since the year 2009 when they adopted it as their ‘home ground’ and it won’t be wrong to say that they are hosting the Asia Cup. The crackerjack of a tournament started off with the Tigers managing to clinch a one-sided victory against not so competitive Sri Lanka. Further, the hosts will be playing their first group game against Hong Kong on Sunday after which will meet the arch-rivals India.

Before the start of the game, Pakistan’s middle-order batsman Babar Azam shared his views with media saying that the Men in Green will look to close the gap against the Indian team. He also believes that the absence of Virat Kohli will act as a booster to their side while also making it clear that there is no reason to take India lightly or even Hong Kong for that matter.

Team focussed to play Hong Kong first

Speaking to PakPassion, Babar Azam said, “There are no easy games in the Asia Cup and we cannot take the Hong Kong game lightly. The match against India will be an interesting one.” He further went on to say that even in Virat’s absence, the Indian team looks a promising side with the likes of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni involved in the mix.

“Virat Kohli is a match-winner and in good form, so his absence will be very beneficial for us and we will make use of that. India has a good side with Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who are very experienced players. We are not worried about any threat from an Indian player but are focused on the first match against Hong Kong,” he added.

Interestingly for the spectators and of course players, India and Pakistan may compete against each other thrice in the tournament if both the teams manage to play their best game throughout the course of this 14-day tournament. However, Azam didn’t pay much heed to it and was keen on looking forward to their upcoming game.

“The fact that we may play India three times in this tournament is a challenge for us and something for us to enjoy as well. Pakistan-India games are watched by a lot of people and we also enjoy it. There is no pressure is such games and we just need to play our natural game and perform as per the game situation,” the 23-year-old further added.

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