Every match, tournament is a fresh start: Rohit Sharma

DUBAI: Ahead of the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan match in Asia Cup 2022, India's skipper Rohit Sharma said his team won't be borrowing the burden of happenings in the past and that every match, as well as a tournament, is a fresh start.

Sunday's clash in Dubai will see the resumption of the 'greatest rivalry' in the world of cricket when India and Pakistan open their Asia Cup Group A campaign.

This will also be the first meeting between these two teams after facing off in the Men's T20 World Cup last year in the UAE, where Pakistan secured a resounding 10-wicket win over India, their first such victory in Men's World Cups.

"We can't say about tomorrow's match, that how the pitch will behave. It is for fast bowlers or spinners. Both teams are going to miss their quality bowlers. But I am hoping that whoever will fill the space of Bumrah will do his best."

"Every match and tournament is a fresh start, we don't borrow the burden from the past. We will focus on the match to win not on the opposition. Everyone in the team is quite excited. We will make the decision on basis of pitch behavior of today's match (between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan)," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference.

"We will decide our course of action as per the situation on the ground. A new match is a new challenge. No point to think about the last loss, yes, we think about it and learn from our mistakes. This non-covid compliance scenario is going to help us and it is good for our mental health," added Rohit.

On meeting the Pakistani fans during practice sessions, Rohit said it may be an unusual for the media, but for us, it is a normal thing. "Yesterday, they were close to me, so I say high, as for us they all are cricket fans. Same as match hype or match tension, media makes the hype, but we play the game only."

On India's opening pair, Rohit said, "we tried many new things, new combinations. If we will not try how we can know our strengths and weakness."

Sunday's match will see Virat Kohli playing his 100th T20I match, after the last playing in England in July. "Virat is back after a break. Yesterday in nets he did amazing shots, it was really good for us as a team."

On the question of bilateral series between two teams, Rohit said, "It is in the hands of the Boards. If we follow their instructions, to play anywhere, any time."