SHARJAH: Pakistan are set to lock horns with the lesser-ranked Hong Kong today in a crucial do-or-die encounter of Asia Cup 2022. Both teams will play their first game against each other in the shortest format. The winning team will join India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4s stage of the tournament while the other team gets eliminated. 

Left-handed batter Fakhar dismissed the impression of taking the opponents lightly as he stated that Hong Kong had been performing well since the qualifiers.

“You cannot take any opposition easy in the T20 format and Hong Kong Hong Kong has played good cricket in the qualifiers so we will try to stick to our plans,” he said in a video shared by Pakistan Cricket Board on its official Twitter account.

 

“T20 is a short format which provides an equal opportunity for both teams to showcase their strengths. We will ensure to minimise our errors and put up a good show as we are aiming for the Super 4s” he added.

Commenting on players’ fitness Fakhar believed that injuries and cramps were part of the game and the team’s medical team had been doing a great job with the players. Pakistani pacers Naseem and Haris Rauf were seen struggling with cramps during the last match against the arch-rivals India.

“Cramps and injuries are part of the game, however, what matters is the way you deal and recover from those injuries. I hope our players will be fully fit before the next game” he said.

Talking about the team’s morale after the narrow defeat in the nail-biting game against India last Sunday, the 32-year-old stated that the close encounter helped the team in raising the confidence level of the players.

“It was a tight game against India, the morale is high in the camp and all our players are confident of doing better in the upcoming game,” he said.

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