The schedule of Asia Cup 2023 was released by PCB on Wednesday. There was a tussle over the schedule for several days. The Asia Cup to be hosted by Pakistan will start from August 30 and the first match will be played between Pakistan and Nepal. Indian team coach Rahul Dravid has given his reaction to the schedule of the Asia Cup. He has said that we are very excited and looking forward to facing Pakistan three times.
Indian cricket team’s coach Rahul Dravid has given his first reaction after the announcement of the Asia Cup 2023 schedule. Dravid says we want to face Pakistan thrice in this mega tournament. But for that, the team will have to take steps one by one. The schedule of the Asia Cup was released on Wednesday. Starting on August 30, India’s first match in this Asian Multination tournament is going to be with Pakistan, which will be on September 2, 2023. However, after crossing the group stage, once again India vs Pakistan match will be seen in Super 4. If India and Pakistan go ahead in Super 4 also then we can get to see India vs Pakistan match once again in this tournament i.e. for the third time in the title game.
Our focus will be on the first two matches – Rahul Dravid
BCCI has posted the video of Rahul Dravid’s reaction on its official Twitter handle. Dravid has said that we would like to fight against Pakistan in the final. Rahul is seen saying, ‘Schedule has been announced’. You have to qualify for Super-4 to play Pakistan 3 times. Gotta take it one step at a time, I don’t believe in counting my chickens too many. I know we’ll be playing Pakistan and Nepal in the first two games,
So we need to focus on that.
India vs Pakistan clash could be in the final
Rahul Dravid further said that we need to focus on both our opening matches. We must win both of these matches. It will be interesting to see how far the tournament goes. If we get a chance to play Pakistan 3 times, that would be great. If we reach the finals of the tournament, there is hope that Pakistan may also reach the finals where they face off against them once more.
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Pakistan and Sri Lanka made team India out of Asia Cup last year
Rahul Dravid further said that it is going to be a great tournament and we would definitely like to play in the final and win it, But to do this we have to go through two important steps. Let us tell you that in last year’s Asia Cup, Team India was out of Super 4 itself. Team India was defeated by Pakistan and Sri Lanka and in the final Sri Lanka won the title by defeating Pakistan. The Asia Cup was contested in the T20 format last year. But this time it will be in ODI format.
In view of the preparations for the World Cup, this tournament is going to be very important for Team India. In such a situation, the coach of Team India says that he wants to win the title while travelling till the final. “It will be a great competition, and we definitely want to make it all the way to the final and win,” Dravid added. But to do this we have to take two first steps which will be very important.
