My ultimate dream is to play Tests for the Indian cricket team: Former Hong Kong captain

Former Hong Kong cricket team captain Anshuman Rath has stated that his ultimate dream is to represent the Indian cricket team in the Test format. Rath, who played 18 ODIs and 20 T20Is for Hong Kong, aims to break into the Vidarbha cricket team.

Speaking to sports presenter Vedant Sharma on SportsTiger YouTube Channel, Anshuman Rath spoke about his long-term goals. Besides, the right-handed batsman also recalled the day when he and his partner Nizakat Khan almost handed a shocking Asia Cup defeat to the Indian cricket team two years ago.

'Our aim was to play fearless cricket': Anshuman Rath recalls Asia Cup 2018 match against Indian cricket team

Anshuman Rath walks after being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav

In the previous edition of the Asia Cup, Hong Kong earned a place in Group A along with heavyweights Pakistan and the Indian cricket team. Pakistan bulldozed Hong Kong before the minnows met the Indian cricket team led by stand-in captain Rohit Sharma.

Shikhar Dhawan's century helped the Indian cricket team post 285 runs on the board after Anshuman Rath won the toss and invited them to bat. In reply, Rath and Nizakat Khan shocked cricket fans in India with their opening partnership of 174 runs. It seemed like the duo would upset the Indian cricket team.

However, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal managed to save the day for the Indian cricket team by picking up eight wickets in the last 16 overs. Recalling that match, Rath said:

"Everything was just clicking. What would have made it a perfect day is that we would have got 26 more runs."

"We made a tactical decision to promote Nizakat to open with me. We told him to play out there like its a T20 match, just literally play fearless cricket. We had got nothing to lose. The momentum was on our side and I told him 'just play fearless cricket. He got us to off a flier. He kept the tempo going and I was able to construct the chase from the other end," the 22-year-old continued.

Last year, Rath quit the Hong Kong team and signed up with Vidarbha as a local player. He accepted that breaking into the Indian cricket team was 'almost impossible' for him, but Rath mentioned that his ultimate dream is to play Test cricket.

"I am not going to leave anything to chance. I see a lot of talented cricketers have the world of excuses. I know it is going to be a Herculean task. For now, my goal is just to get into that Vidarbha side and cement that position and then get closer and closer to the ultimate dream of playing Test cricket," Anshuman Rath said.

In the Asia Cup, the left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman had shown the world that he has got what it takes to play international cricket. At just 22, Anshuman Rath could still break into the Indian cricket team in the coming years.