Asia Cup 2022: Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa looks forward to play against India and Pakistan

By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
Dubai [UAE], August 31 : Ahead of the do-or-die clash against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2022, Sri Lanka bowler Bhanuka Rajapaksa said they are looking forward to playing against India and Pakistan in the Super 4.
Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan outplayed Sri Lanka in all three departments of the game to register an eight-wicket victory in the opening game of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Sri Lanka will battle it out with Bangladesh in match number 5 of the ongoing Asia Cup on Thursday. It is a do-or-die clash game for both teams.
Talking about the mood in the camp ahead of the clash against Bangladesh who suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Afghanistan, Rajapaksa told ANI, "We all knew after we lost the first game it would be a must-win game for the teams. The camp is quite excited to face Bangladesh tomorrow and to qualify for the super four. We are looking forward to competing against Bangladesh and playing some good cricket."
Bangladesh suffered a defeat against Afghanistan by seven wickets in a Group B tie on Tuesday. Talking about how he sees Bangladesh as the opponent, Rajapaksa said, "I think it would be a very competitive game tomorrow. Because in the last couple of the time we defeated them. But we can't take them lightly because the experience they carry in the Asia Cup is great. We, Sri Lankans, have been playing good as a team for the past two years. So it would be a really good battle. Looking forward to the game tomorrow."
Talking about Team India who have been in blistering form in this tournament as they defeated their arch-rival Pakistan by five wickets.
"Team India is always been a favourite in this tournament and they have been playing superb cricket. It would be good competition when all the teams play against each other in the Super 4. Looking forward to playing against India and Pakistan. It going to be amazing cricket," he added.
Star India batter Virat Kohli recently scored 35 runs against Pakistan on Sunday. Kohli has been out of form for a very long time. Rajapaksa said that as a player they hope that he struggles to score more than 30 runs against Sri Lanka but as a person, he would love to see Kohli back in the form.
"What do we expect from Virat Kohli to play big, I dont think he is out of touch. It's just he is getting 30 and 40s when people expect him to get 70 or 70 plus. But as a player, we are quite happy that if he is going to struggle and not score more than 30-40 against Sri Lanka, that's a good sign for all of us. But we hope he will make a good comeback. As a person I would love to see him back in form," said Rajapaksa.
The winner between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will now go to the Super four stage with Afghanistan.