KANDY(Sri Lanka): Ahead of his side’s Asia Cup clash against India, Nepal coach Monty Desai said that previous generations of Nepal cricket dreamt of a day when their team will play against big Test-playing nations and now that it has come true, the team will back its strengths when it has been presented with a good chance to carve their identity.
India will take on Nepal in their Asia Cup clash at Kandy. In Group A, Pakistan qualified for the Super Four stage with three points following a win over Nepal and a washout against arch-rivals India, which caused them to share a point each. Now India (1 point) and Nepal (0 points) have to win this match to qualify for the Super Four stage.
“Every generation (of Nepal Cricket) had a dream that one day they will play with big nations…Today their dream is coming true,” the coach told ANI.
“We have played the League 2 matches and Asia Cup qualifiers matches. We have won them. We will back our strengths against India,” he added.
The coach admitted that Nepal players will feel awed by the presence of superstar Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, etc. but on the field, there will be just competition and “it is a good chance for Nepal to carve its identity.”
Nepal all-rounder Gulshan Jha also said that Nepal has an opportunity to learn from a team as big as India.
“We have an opportunity to learn from India. India is a big team. Every wicket will be priceless for us and we will work hard for it,” said Gulshan, who is excited for the match.
“We had dreamt of a day we would play Test teams like India and Pakistan. We will compete hard on the field though it is a fanboy moment for all of us”, he added.
Another all-rounder Aarif Sheikh has his eyes on Virat Kohli’s wicket.
“I would like to take Virat Kohli’s wicket. I want to face every bowler tomorrow,” he said.
“We are playing a big match tomorrow. We would play it like a knockout match. It is a fanboy moment for us. But we will play hard on the field and continue with our adoration for India off the field. Our players and previous generations have worked very hard for a day like this,” he added.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh, Bhim Sharki, Kushal Malla, Aarif Sheikh, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratish GC, Mousom Dhakal, Sundeep Jora, Kishore Mahato, Arjun Saud. – By Vipul Kashyap(ANI)