An India-Pakistan clash naturally commands massive global attention, and it will be no different when the gold-medal match takes place at Korogi Sports Park on Saturday. India stand on the brink of defending their Asian Games gold medal, but batting coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has brushed off the hype surrounding their high-stakes final against arch-rivals Pakistan, saying the side views the contest strictly through a professional lens. “A lot of eyeballs will be there, but for the players, to be frank with you, it’s facing a bowler or bowling to a batter.
So that’s what it comes down to, and that’s what professionals do. So that’s what we’ll be focused on,” Kanitkar told reporters on the eve of the match.
“No, it doesn’t. So we need to be in our zone, we need to be at our best, and that’s what we focus on. Having advanced to the title clash through a commanding semifinal win over Sri Lanka, Kanitkar noted that the squad remains in high spirits despite weather-disrupted training sessions. “The team’s done well. We just got one game to play, and it was a good outing for the players. We are confident, and the team is confident. Our preparation has been good despite the weather. It’s been very good, so we are happy with the place we are in. For international players, each and every game is important. Everything is scrutinised, everything is closely watched. So I think it’s as important as all the other games we have been playing.”
“This is one more international game that my team will be playing, and it’s for the Asian Games gold medal, so that’s the importance of the game. The former India batter, famous for hitting the match-winning boundary against Pakistan in the 1998 Independence Cup final in Dhaka, dismissed suggestions that recent Indian results across other sports, including a win over Pakistan in the men’s hockey semifinal and a defeat to them in the men’s volleyball quarterfinal, would add extra pressure on his side.
Frankly, as I said earlier, every international match brings pressure. Shutting out all the other noise is part of professional cricket and sport, and that’s what we’ll look to do,” he said.
