×

Hong Kong skipper Nizakat Khan issues warning to the Indian team ahead of the Asia Cup match

 

After beating arch rivals Pakistan in a close contest, India is all set to play their second group game against Hong Kong on Wednesday at Dubai International Stadium at 7:30 PM IST. Without a doubt, India are firm favourites against the associate team, but you can't write off any team, especially in the T20I format.

And just ahead of the last few hours of the match, Hong Kong skipper Nizakat Khan has issued a warning to the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team and has revealed his plans for the match. In the pre-match press conference, the Hong Kong skipper was asked about his team's chances against India by the journalists.

To that, he responded that anything is possible in a T20I game, and that India is among the best teams in the world, but they are ready to surprise the strong team. He also pointed out that on a given day, any team can beat any team.

Nizakat also said that it will be a great opportunity for Hong Kong to face teams like India and Pakistan in the competition, and it will be a great learning experience for them. Notably, Hong Kong won the qualifiers for the Asia Cup 2022 and became the sixth team to qualify for the tournament.

Nizakat further said, "His side is prepared to take on top-class pacers even though it does not face them often in associate cricket. Any team can beat their opponent on a given day in T20I cricket. We want to play good cricket and it is important."

India played Hong Kong in a match in the 2018 Asia Cup, which they won by 26 runs. The Hong Kong skipper further said that they will look to improve and not to repeat the same mistake that they made in the last match of the 2018 Asia Cup tournament.

On the other hand, the head coach of Hong Kong, Trent Jonhson, also said that the team is looking to play the best cricket that they have played so far in the qualifiers and are enjoying themselves.