Hong Kong will begin their Asia Cup campaign on Wednesday against the world's top T20 side, India, and skipper Nizakat Khan described the opportunity to play against India as "the best motivation you can get."
While a side led by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should be expected to win comfortably, Hong Kong has previously pulled India close, losing a 50-over match in the same competition by just 27 runs in 2018.
Khan, who scored 92 in that game, said that his team's strategy would remain identical this time and that "everything is possible in T20 matches."
"If you look back at the history, many so-called big sides have been defeated by newbies," he remarked. "Taking on India and Pakistan is a great chance for us." It's not every day that you get to rub elbows with world-class cricketers. We are aware of the task, but as professional cricketers, this is why you play the game. As a group, we are quite excited.
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For Khan this round of “practice tours, qualifier matches and tournaments” has helped his side prepare for the big games they face on Wednesday in Dubai and then against Pakistan in Sharjah on Friday.
Hong Kong entered the tournament after a three-month campaign that took them to Namibia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Jersey, and ultimately Oman, where they won the right to compete in the Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, head coach Trent Johnson said that the opportunity to play against such powerful opponents is wonderful. "What they (Hong Kong) have accomplished thus far is incredible. It's all about having fun while playing terrific cricket. Hong Kong has earned its place at this level "Johnson added.
The fourth match of the Asia Cup 2022 will pit Hong Kong against India which will take place on Wednesday, August 31 at the Dubai International Stadium.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), K.L. Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Hong Kong Squad: Nizakat Khan (Captain), Kinchit Shah, Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Babar Hayat, Aftab Hussain, Ateeq Iqbal, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Scott McKechnie, Ghazanfar Mohammad, Yasim Murtaza, Dhananjay Rao, Wajid Shah, Ayush Shukla, Ahan Trivedi, Mohammad Waheed.
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