‘We need to qualify for Super 4s first, so it’s one game at a time’: Dravid on India's Asia Cup chances

Rahul Dravid

With the much-awaited Asia Cup schedule out, India head coach Rahul Dravid acknowledged the buzz surrounding the possibility of playing against Pakistan thrice in the tournament, but insisted that his team will take things step by step, focusing on one game at a time.

India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup on September 2 in Kandy with there being a possibility of three encounters between the two if they progress to the Super 4s and ultimately to the final. "The schedule is out and you have to qualify for the Super4s to play Pakistan three times, so one step at a time. I don't believe in counting my chickens too much. I want to play one game at a time," said Dravid in a video posted by BCCI on Twitter.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2023: Complete fixtures at a glance

Dravid also highlighted that a showdown with Pakistan in the final would be an exciting contest. "We know we have to play Pakistan and Nepal in the first two games, we need to focus on that, we need to play good cricket, we need to win those games and then see where the tournament goes. If we get the opportunity to play them three times, I think that is fantastic, that means we reach the final of the tournament and hopefully Pakistan reach the final as well. That will be a great contest and great for us and we certainly aim to do that, we certainly want to play right up to the final and win that final but we have to take the first two steps before," Dravid added.

Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group ‘A' while Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are in Group ‘B'. The six-nation tournament will be played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka with Pakistan's Multan and Lahore and Sri Lanka's Kandy and Colombo being the host venues.

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