Indian men’s cricket team assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate clarified that the Suryakumar Yadav-led side was always mentally prepared to face Pakistan in the T20 World Cup group stage game in Colombo on February 15.
Ryan ten Doeschate stated that the Indian dressing room never allowed off-field developments to affect its preparation and Pakistan’s U-turn has only strengthened the team’s focus on cricket.
“First of all, I think it’s great that the game is back on, we never changed (our) preparation (or thought) that the game wasn’t going to happen. We always had an impression that something would transpire and we would play, so it’s not a big change in the way we go about things,” Ryan ten Doeschate was quoted as saying at the Arun Jaitley Stadium
on Tuesday.
“We kind of got confirmation late yesterday. Early this morning, it started coming through that the game was going ahead. We’d like to have another chance to play against a quality side and it’s good for the team,” he added.
India assistant coach reiterated that the players were consciously avoiding the political discourse surrounding the contest.
“We try and stay clear of all the politics. I’ve mentioned before about the sentiments of the country and know the different politics between the two countries. But I think it’s really important for us just to focus on the cricket side of things,” he said.
India will play Namibia on February 12, and Ten Doeschate believes that clarity over Pakistan’s participation will allow both teams to approach the contest purely as a sporting rivalry.
“No, like I said, you know we kind of accepted that as a status quo and until we got there and they didn’t show up we were assuming we were going to play,” he said.
Advantage Pakistan?
Ten Doeschate acknowledged that Pakistan might have a logistical advantage, having already spent considerable time in Colombo.
“It’s going to be a challenge going to Colombo, where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks and we’re fully focused on just bringing our best game to that fixture next week,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
