"Take the pressure and expectation to our advantage" - Hardik Pandya upbeat on India's chances at the 2023 World Cup
Vice-captain Hardik Pandya feels Team India should continue playing the way they have been and use the pressure of expectations to their advantage to attain glory in the 2023 World Cup.
Team India will kickstart their World Cup campaign with a high-voltage clash against five-time champions Australia in Chennai today (October 8). The Men in Blue come into the marquee tournament as the No.1 ranked side across formats and have been deemed the heavy favorites with the World Cup played at home.
Speaking to the ICC ahead of the India-Australia clash, Pandya insisted that they will play fearless cricket throughout the World Cup.
"We have got some world-class batters and world-class bowlers. We just need to come together, play fearless, take the pressure and expectation to our advantage and continue what we have done. It is exciting with a lot of expectations, but at the same time, we are going to get a lot of love and support and cheers which is going to get the best out of us," Pandya said.
Despite going into ICC tournaments as among the favorites over the last several years, India has fallen short of the ultimate goal since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Hardik Pandya has played two 50-over ICC events in his career - The 2019 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy, ending in semi-final and final defeats.
The 29-year-old had a reasonable campaign in the 2019 World Cup, scoring 226 runs at an average of 32.48 and picking up 10 wickets in nine games.
"We have been No.1 (ranked side) for quite some time" - Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya further asserted that India being No.1 in world cricket in recent years indicates their prowess and wished for those performances to translate into the World Cup.
Team India became only the second team after South Africa to be the top-ranked side in all three formats when they defeated Australia 2-1 in the recent ODI series.
"We have been No.1 (ranked side) for quite some time in recent years and it means definitely we have done really well and we just need to turn that moment into World Cups and we are confident this year we will be able to," Pandya said.
The all-rounder was also thankful for having an opportunity to play a home World Cup for India at the peak of his career.
"I have always wanted to do a lot of good things in my life, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would reach here. It has been a blessing and a lot of good deeds done by my parents to get what I have and credit to them to see that and make sure I played the sport but at the same time, I supported. It was a dream to play for the country and I am living the dream," he concluded.
Team India suffered a massive 209-run defeat in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final earlier this year. However, Rohit Sharma's men will take solace from the last three home teams emerging victorious in the ODI World Cup, dating back to 2011.