'Want to see players bat under pressure against quality teams in Asia Cup'

MUMBAI: India skipper Rohit Sharma hinted that there will be pressure on some players to perform at the Asia Cup with World Cup spots up for grabs. The Asia Cup will kick off on August 30, with arch-rivals India and Pakistan set to lock horns in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on September 2. The tournament will follow a hybrid model, with four matches to be hosted by Pakistan and all of India's matches and a total of nine fixtures taking place in the Emerald Isle.

Rohit Sharma does not want the Indian squad, particularly the batting, to be overly reliant on individuals. For this, he wants to see how players react to match pressure during the next Asia Cup. "We will see, we want to win but at the same time, there are a lot of questions that we need answers to. But in the Asia Cup, I want to see some of the guys batting under pressure against quality teams," Rohit told reporters on the sidelines of a La Liga event here, according to ICC.

"I still want to see those things, so we will wait and see what happens, but it is always nice to have a lot of names, rather than just one or two names. I hope they are fit in time – firstly that is the most important." Rohit went on to say that no one, including himself, is an automatic selection for the competition, and that the Asia Cup selection meeting will take place in a few days.

"We have got a lot of names there. We will see what is the right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before [that] we have the Asia Cup," he added. Rohit believes that the next Asia Cup would be another tremendous challenge for the Indian team, as they will learn what works best for them in terms of batting lineups and team combinations.

“No one is an automatic (selection), even I am not. We have this thing where nobody is guaranteed a spot. We cannot say that ‘you are thereafter all’ or things like that. Yes, some players know that they are going to play but at this point in time, playing three ODIs in the West Indies was a good opportunity to look at a few guys. In the Asia Cup, again, we will face good opposition," he added.