India coach Rahul Dravid advises fans not to overreact after Asia Cup 2022 disappointment

Rahul Dravid. file pic

India head coach Rahul Dravid said on Thursday that losing a couple of games on a difficult surface does not make the team terrible and there is no need to overreact to things. Both India and Afghanistan have been knocked out of the Asia Cup 2022. India is heading into the match after a loss to Sri Lanka while Afghanistan is heading into the game with a painful loss to Pakistan in a last-over thriller. For both teams, this contest is about playing for respect and bowing out of the tournament with a win.

"I see my role as a support to the captain and the team. Helping the team to get the best out of themselves. But once they are on the field, it is upto the players and the captain to execute their plans and take the team forward. I think Rohit is pretty relaxed, and pretty much the whole team is. You got to put things in perspective," said Dravid to broadcasters before the match.

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"We lost a couple of games on a pitch, on a ground that has not been easy to defend on. Just because we have lost a couple of games, it doesn't mean we are a terrible team. I think we do not need to overreact to things. It is a balanced environment, whether we win or we lose. We keep going on the same path, and the journey continues...," he added. Coming to the match, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to field first against India in their last Super Four clash in the Asia Cup in Dubai on Thursday.

KL Rahul will be leading the team. Yuzvendra Chahal, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are not a part of the playing eleven. Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel and Dinesh Karthik have been included in the squad.

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.

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