World Cup is our main focus, says Pooja Vastrakar ahead of Women’s Asia Cup opener

Mumbai, July 18 (IANS) All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar said the Indian women;s team will be hoping to continue its legacy of dominance in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on Friday, their main focus will remain on the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in October this year.

Vastrakar, who executed a starring role in India’s dominance in the recent multi-format series against South Africa at home, said she is excited about participating in their third Asia Cup and shed light on their preparation for Asia Cup while aiming towards the World Cup ahead.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, Vastrakar said, “This will be my third edition of Women’s Asia Cup. We played very well last year and we were champions. We just have to continue this legacy and win many trophies for the Indian team.”

Vastrakar said the Indian team’s preparation has been very good and they are very confident going into their opening match against archrivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup opener.

“Our preparation has been very good. We had a camp in Bangalore and then we played matches in Chennai against South Africa. As a result, our team is looking different. This is a new young team. We are doing our preparations by just not only focusing on the Asia Cup, but we are also focusing on the World Cup. We are also focusing on the bilateral series and the Asia Cup,” said Vastrakar.

The 24-year-old bowling all-rounder from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh said they want to utilize the Asia Cup matches to nail their playing style for the World Cup. “Our main focus is on the World Cup. We want to utilize these preliminary series and tournaments to play the brand of cricket that we play in the World Cup,” said Vastrakar.

–IANS

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