Team India is gearing up for the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka starting from June 19. The team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, recently dominated South Africa across all three formats at home in a bilateral series winning the one-off Test, three ODIs and levelling the three-match T20I series. Ahead of the Asia Cup, skipper Kaur opened up on India's chances in the tournament and highlighted that each game is important for them.
India Women's team have been slotted in Group A for the Asia Cup alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, UAE and Nepal. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals with India set to face Pakistan on June 19 in their opening game of the competition. "The kind of approach we have right now, every day whenever we are going to play the matches, we are giving equal importance to all matches.
"We all are very greedy to win every game, and that is something we feel should be in a team, and this is what everyone in the team is feeling," Kaur said while speaking to Star Sports. All matches of the Women's Asia Cup are set to be played at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. Opening up more about the massive clash against Pakistan, the India captain admitted that there is always pressure when they play against the neighbouring country but it is important for her to make sure that the players are at ease.
"When you play against Pakistan, there is a different atmosphere in both the countries. Both the countries want their team to win. As a player, there is a lot of pressure for us. But as a leader, it is my responsibility to make my team feel light in that environment, so that they don't think that we are playing against Pakistan or it’s a pressure game. It will be important for me to make everyone feel that this is also just another game.
"We have to do well for the team and make the team win. Other than thinking about what is going on in the stadium, who are the other people cheering for? Who are they talking about? Just focus on the main things. Don't think about the things that we can't control," Kaur said.
