T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan ‘just another game’ for India: Kohli

DUBAI: India captain Virat Kohli played down the “hype” surrounding the high-profile upcoming T20 World Cup opening match against Pakistan, saying it’s “just another match for us” despite the ridiculously high demand for tickets.

India have never lost to their neighbours in either ODI or T20 World Cup games and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said they are confident of beating the arch-rivals on October 24.

Kohli however, when asked about the match, did not take the bait to make tall claims.
“I honestly never felt so,” Kohli said when asked if it feels different whenever India meets its neighbour.

“I have just approached this game as another game of cricket and I know there is a lot of hype around this game, more so with ticket sales and demands of tickets,” he added.

On a lighter note, Kohli said he has refused a lot of friends who have asked for tickets.
“[…] Right now, the value of those tickets are ridiculously high and that’s all I know, my friends are demanding tickets right left and centre and I am saying, ‘no’.”

Kohli believes one needs to be professional and play the game in the right spirit as they would do with every match.

“Apart from that, I don’t think we can make anything extra out of this game and for us, it’s a game of cricket that has to be played in the right spirit, in the way we know we can,” he said.

“Yes, the environment you can say is different from the outside and from fans’ point of view, definitely more excitement in the air but from a players’ point of view, we try to stay as professional as we can and always approach the game in the most normal way possible,” the Indian captain said.

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