Any team on the given day could be dangerous: KL Rahul

LUCKNOW: Ahead of his side's ICC Cricket World Cup match against England, India batter KL Rahul said that any team on a given day can be dangerous and expressed happiness and brushed off any concerns of lack of runs by the middle order in the tournament so far. India will take on England in their World Cup match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

While India is undefeated in the tournament with five wins in five matches, England, the defending champions have failed to make an impact, winning just one match in five.

On preparations against a struggling, demoralised England side, KL said in the pre-match press conference that it is important that the Men in Blue focus on their strength. "Firstly, we do not think of any opposition that way. Any team on the given day can be dangerous and I am sure you have covered enough cricket matches to know that there is no team that starts off as a favourite in a game of cricket or in any sport. So, it's important that we keep doing what we have been doing and focus on our strengths," said Rahul.

The middle-order batter expressed happiness with the fact that senior stars like Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma have made a lot of runs and said that the middle-order has contributed whenever they got a chance.

"No, I do not think it is a concern (performance of middle-order). It is a very good thing when your senior players are making runs and are in form. That is what you expect from players like Rohit and Virat.

"Yes, whoever has got the chance, whoever has got the opportunity, they have contributed. I know that big scores have not been scored, hundreds have not been scored apart from Virat and Rohit. But that is the challenge for the other guys. Shubman has scored 50, Shreyas has scored 50, I have been batting [well]. When Jadeja got the chance in the last match, he also finished the match. So, every player has a different role. They are playing their role and responsibility well. Team is winning so we we are not really worried but whenever anyone gets a chance, I'm sure they'll put their hands up," he added.

On his comeback, KL said that he worked really hard to make his comeback. "I have put a lot of effort into this. I tried to address it (outside noise). Outside noise for a long time, I thought it would not affect me, but in the last year or so it started affecting me. And then I realized that I would have to work on it (dealing with outside noise). And when I got time, outside of the game, I tried to work on that side - mentally you got to get a lot more stronger, a lot more thick-skinned. So yeah, so that really helped me being away from the game," said the batter.

KL said that since he has returned to the side, the atmosphere has been relaxed and everyone has been enjoying their cricket. "I think that is just one thing (fielding medal videos) that you are seeing or the fans outside are seeing, they are getting to see a version of cricketers that maybe they have not seen before but one thing is that since I have returned to the team from Asia Cup, the environment has been such that everyone is enjoying cricket," said KL.

"Everyone is in a very happy state of mind. We know that whenever we cross the boundary line, there will be pressure. But the best thing we can do is outside of the field still try and enjoy ourselves and try to be as calm as possible. The atmosphere we're trying to create that and I think everyone must have realized after playing cricket that is the biggest thing that you need to keep outside - that is the outside noise or pressure. In World Cup or any big tournament or big matches the team that handles pressure better is the team that will more often than not win the game."

"So individually we are all trying from our side that how we can be in that zone and yes, the fielding medal videos that you are watching, it is fun for us also, whatever happens, there is a lot of fun, there is a lot of banter. So, it is a good way to connect as a group as well," concluded KL. KL said that Hardik is a very important member of the side and him not playing against England will be a miss. He also backed Suryakumar Yadav to deliver in ODIs till Hardik is back.

The all-rounder will miss the match against England as well due to ankle injury. "Surya will probably get his chance and we know what Surya can do. So, our confidence is in Surya till Hardik comes back," said KL. The batter said that Indian team has not spoken much about their opposition in the games they have played, rather it is team's own strengths that are discussed.

"Yes, we do a little bit of homework about the opposition and like you said England is the defending champion. Yes, they may not have had a few results going their way but it does not change the fact that they are still a very dangerous team and we will not go by what has happened with them in the last few games. We will focus on tomorrow and try to compete and beat them again," he concluded.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.