KANDY: India’s all-format captain Rohit Sharma on Friday, heaped praise on Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah ahead of the high-octane clash in the ongoing ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023.

Sharma, while addressing the pre-match press conference here at the Pallekele International Stadium, acknowledged that the Indian team does not get to face such quality bowlers in the nets as Pakistan’s pace trio.

“Shaheen, Naseem and Haris are quality bowlers. We don’t have such bowlers in the nets so we need to play really well against them,” said Sharma.

Rohit Sharma further lauded the Pakistan cricket team as a whole and shared that it would be interesting to play against them.

“Pakistan’s team is very good, they have improved very well in the past few years, whether it is T20I or 50 overs,” Sharma said.

“No team becomes number without any reason, they have worked hard and they are playing well as a unit, it will be interesting to play them.

“We will play our best, we have prepared well, let’s see how it goes.”

The Indian captain emphasized that he and his team need to use their experience heading into the Asia Cup 2023.

“We need to use our experience, I’ll have to see what kind of cricket our team needs. In the last two years, I have played in a different way, more like risky cricket, but I need to change my approach. As a top-order batter, I know how important it is for me to play a long inning and I need to bring balance to my game,” said Rohit Sharma.

“We have short-term goals, as of now all we are focusing on is the game against Pakistan,” he added.

The Asia Cup 2023 group-stage clash between Pakistan and India will mark Pakistan and India’s first faceoff in the ODI format since the 2019 World Cup, where the Men in Blue emerged triumphant.

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