Bhuvneshwar Kumar reacts after India-Pakistan placed in same group in T20 World Cup
Bhuvneshwar Kumar said a game against Pakistan is always of high pressure as the match is played with high intensity. India-Pakistan have been placed in Group 2 of T20 World Cup.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s vice-captain for the Sri Lanka tour, said it is always ‘exciting’ to play Pakistan after it was announced that the arch-rivals have once again been placed together in Group 2 of the ICC T20 World Cup. India, Pakistan who now only play in the ICC events, are clubbed with New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two other qualifiers in the Super 12 stage of the tournament set to be played in UAE and Oman in October this year. India remain the official hosts of the tournament despite it being shifted out due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Bhuvneshwar said playing Pakistan is always a high pressure affair as the match is played with high intensity.
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"Look, it is always exciting to play against Pakistan, and it is always a pressure and high-intensity match,” Kumar said ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka on July 18.
The right-arm seamer, who is on a comeback trail after injury issues, said jis team in Sri Lanka are not yet thinking about the World Cup as they have the Sri Lanka series, England tour, and then the IPL in between.
"But, to be honest, we have not really thought about how it is going to be because we have a lot of cricket left. We have got matches in Sri Lanka and of course Test matches in England and then the IPL and then the World Cup. Once we get off the IPL, we will start thinking about that," Bhuvneshwar added.
Meanwhile, defending T20 champions West Indies and reigning 50-overs winners England share Group 1 with Australia, South Africa and two qualifiers.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are among eight teams divided into two qualifying groups, with the top two from each group progressing to Super 12 stage of the tournament to be played between Oct. 17 and Nov. 14.
"There are some great match ups offered by the groups and it starts to bring the event to life for our fans as our first multi-team event since the onset of the global pandemic draws closer," ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement.
The ICC was yet to announce the tournament fixtures with matches scheduled in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Oman.
The tournament was moved out of India last month because of the COVID-19 situation in the country and related travel restrictions.
"It is good to get Oman in the frame of world cricket with the hosting of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup," Indian board president Sourav Ganguly said.
"It will help a lot of young players take an interest in the game. We know it will be a world class event in this part of the world."