Dubai, Sep 28
Ahead of the Asia Cup final, India's fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah acknowledged the unusual frequency of facing Pakistan in the same tournament, saying its not often that a team faces another side thrice in one competition.
Both sides are meeting for the third time in the tournament, with India beating Pakistan by seven wickets in their Group A match and by six wickets in the Super Fours meeting. "It has been exciting. Not very often in a multinational tournament you play one opposition three times, so interesting is the word for me," said Bumrah in a chat with the broadcasters.
Bumrah has taken five wickets in Asia Cup, and interestingly, he has been used by Suryakumar Yadav in a different role - of bowling three overs in the powerplay. "The team has wanted to use me up front in three overs, so that's something which is very new for me as well because I've not been used to doing this role. I remember I did it in 2016 when I first came to the international side. So, it's an interesting role."
"See, I'm happy to do whatever the team asks me to do and try to contribute to the best of my ability. The team is looking ominous. I think at this moment, you don't look at reputation because I think IPL has helped a lot because all the youngsters in our team are very, very confident and they know they're very good," he said.
Asked on the youngsters being confident upfront in winning games for the team, Bumrah said, "I remember when I came in 2016, I did have a conversation and, okay, you're still trying to convince yourself. But all the other players that I see, they've played 5-7 games, but they're so confident."
"They know they're really good. They've played against the best bowling line-ups. They've dominated them. So I think that really helps to get them confidence and then they take the game forward as it comes."
Bumrah signed off by saying the Indian team will approach the final with a fresh slate. "I think that's the key. Any game you start from zero, you take the confidence from previous games and you don't go too high, too low against any opposition. We've always maintained that."
"We've always felt like when we focus on our team, we focus on our strengths and our combinations, we usually do well. When we focus too much on the opposition, the other team, what they are looking to do, it doesn't really concern us. We look at ourselves. We do our processes and tick our boxes."
- IANS
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