Asia Cup 2022: “This is not about playing mind games”- Mohammad Kaif wants Rohit Sharma to make a statement by announcing India playing XI in advance

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that India skipper Rohit Sharma should announce India’s playing XI for Asia Cup 2022 much ahead of the start of the tournament. He said such a statement move would instill a strong belief among the team's core players.

He added that the move will send out a strong message that Team India are out to avenge the 10-wicket loss to Pakistan that they suffered at the ICC T20 World Cup last year.

Speaking to Sony Sports Network, he said:

“This is not about playing mind games. I request Rohit Sharma to make a statement, that this is our playing XI. Good luck to all the players. Let’s win this Asia Cup. We have to win and defeat Pakistan as it is a big tournament. We’ve lost to them in the T20 World Cup. We are going ahead with a plan.”

He added:

“The biggest thing is that [India] should announce their playing XI in a couple of days. Rohit Sharma should step up and say that this is my XI (except in case of any injury).

"Last year, Pakistan announced their XI a day earlier, but we waited for the toss and only made the decision after looking at the ground and conditions.”

Asia Cup 2022: “It sends a big message [to opposition teams] that we are ready”- Mohammad Kaif

A veteran of 125 ODIs, Kaif felt that announcing the playing XI in advance will send out a strong message to the opposition that the Indian cricket team is here to win the Asia Cup 2022.

He said that the move will give clarity to the players about their roles so there are no loopholes.

“It sends a big message to opponents that we are ready. There is no doubt about the role of the players. All we have to do is go and win the match. There should not be any confusion among players about whether they will play in the final XI or not.”

India squad for the Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan.

Standby Players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Axar Patel.

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai.