Indian batting star Virat Kohli said that pacer Mustafizur Rahman will be going to be a big factor for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 and he also said the tournament is a perfect platform to assess his team’s strengths, weaknesses and its current standing on the global stage ahead of the big-ticket World Twenty20 next month.
He was talking at a pre-match press conference held on Tuesday at the city’s local hotel.
India take on host Bangladesh in the tournament-opener of the Asia Cup T20 tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur, beginning their final phase of preparations for next month’s World T20 to be held in India.
Kohli said Mustafiz has been playing tremendous cricket in the last one year and it’s really thrilling to see such a young bowler bowling like this …. I think Mustafiz is going to be a big factor for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20.
He said they are taking good preparation for the Asia Cup and as Mustafiz has extra ordinary skill they are very cautious to tackle bowling sensation Mustafizur.
The Indian batting sensation Kohli said Asia Cup has always been a challenging tournament … it’s like a mini event as far as the sub-continental teams are concerned. It’s an opportunity to test yourself and it’s a competitive tournament with different oppositions with different set of skills testing all the time.
Meanwhile, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s availability in the opening game of the tournament remain doubtful after he suffered a muscle spam’s injury during a training session.
This has prompted the BCCI to rush Parthiv Patel as a back-up. Kohli however did not clarify on whether Dhoni will sit out of Wednesday’s match.
