Sports
Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers: We are here, we are ready, and we will do it: India’s coach Igor Stimac
With exactly a week left for India to kick off their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers here — beginning on June 8, head coach Igor Stimac spoke out his mind on the toughest team to face, the injuries, the preparations, him dealing with the boys, and much more.
In an interview, he stressed his confidence about qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
Excerpts:
Q. We witnessed a spectacle in the stands the last time India played an international match in Kolkata. What are you expecting this time?
A. For the last couple of years we have only been playing away from home. That has been difficult for the team. There have been so many Covid-19 measures, and it has been really difficult. Nobody was thinking about football at that time, and everyone survived some difficulties. Now that we are back to normalcy and can play matches at home again, it feels great.
Q. What is special about Kolkata?
A. Kolkata is a football city. One can feel football, live football, breathe football. you get that extra push that is needed to get the players over the limit. I would like to call all the supporters to come back to the stadium and support us. I felt real passion when I last saw them in Kolkata, and it would be great to play with their support behind our back.
Q. Which team do you think will be the toughest to face in Group D?
A. Afghanistan are the one that come first to mind. More so because physically, they are much stronger. They have so many players from foreign leagues that have well-organised football throughout the year. While these players are playing in quality leagues abroad, we are trying to build that same here, which will take time. That’s why I consider them as one of the major opponents.
Q. What’s your assessment of Hong Kong?
A. Hong Kong have changed a rule that now allows them to naturalise foreigners. So, we will have to see how much better they are now. Foreign players can bring a lot of value to the team. We try to make sure that the players that we bring to the National Team understand the importance of quick decision-making on the pitch. But our boys are doing well, and I’m happy with the work they’ve done since we started camp in Bellary, and then continued the good work in Kolkata.
Q. How confident are you prior to the three matches?
A. We are confident. We have three games to make sure that India qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. That’s the sole objective. We are here, we are ready, and we will do it.
With a week left, how are the preparations going on?
It’s the final week and there are a few things we are working on — putting in the final touches. We are working on set-pieces and on certain aspects of our attack and defence. Obviously, there are different aspects to each of these. There are certain issues, especially with niggling injuries to some players, but we are dealing with them as best we can.
Q. What’s the update on injuries in the camp?
A. Liston (Colaco) had joined us with an injury after the AFC Cup — so that’s an area where we are looking into. He has done well with ATK Mohun Bagan, and he’s a player who can provide real quality in one-on-one situations, and also can pass well, and score. However, Ritwik Das was diagnosed with chickenpox recently, so we have brought in Deepak Tangri as his replacement. Deepak can play both positions in midfield, and as a central defender where we actually prefer him.
Q. Anyone whom you are missing?
A. We miss some others like Rahul KP, Apuia, Vikram, and Rahim Ali. I mention Rahim all the time for a specific reason. Maybe he will be the one to replace Sunil Chhetri. That’s why we need to think of managing these players and treating them well.
Q. What kind of mindset will the team be approaching these three matches with?
A. We are going in with a positive mindset. To be successful you need a positive mindset, a good character, and a little bit of luck. If you go into a game with the intent to defend for 90 minutes, you will not succeed. You need to go into the game with the intention of hurting your opponents, or you will go down – be it in the first five minutes, or in added time.
Q. Is there any pressure on the players?
A. There is absolutely no pressure on them when it comes to the results. Nobody will ask them questions if we fail. The questions will come to me. The pressure on them is to follow the plan that we have set out for them. There is a Head Coach who has a plan and tells them what to do.
Q. What are you telling them?
A. It’s very important to think about what to tell them, and where to push them beyond. You cannot always push the players beyond the limit — you need to pick and choose the moments when you need to do that. What I request of them always is to stay disciplined and follow what we are working on. Of course, they can make mistakes, and things can be a bit here and there in the 90 minutes. But that’s football — you make mistakes. But the most important thing is not to repeat them.
New Delhi, April 2: Former England cricketer Nick Knight believes Punjab Kings (PBKS) have found a winning formula in IPL 2025, with the leadership of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting.
After a strong start to the IPL 2025 campaign, where Iyer’s unbeaten 97 off 42 balls powered Punjab Kings to a narrow 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans, PBKS extended their unbeaten streak with a commanding eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants, courtesy to Prabhsimran Singh (69) and Iyer’s ( 52 not out) fluent half-centuries.
Knight was particularly impressed with how Indian players have stepped up in the team’s two commanding victories so far.
“You look at their team line-up and think they’ve won two games quite well—this one (against LSG) certainly comprehensively. Overseas players haven’t played a major part in that. So (there are) contributions from Indian players. The captain’s like a rock. He looks so calm. He looks so authoritative. The team is playing exactly how his mentality is playing out along with the coach Ricky Ponting,” Knight said on ESPNcricinfo.
What stands out is how much of PBKS’ success has come from their Indian core. Shreyas Iyer has led from the front, but youngsters like Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, and Prabhsimran Singh have also played key roles. This bodes well for the team, especially since their overseas stars—Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Lockie Ferguson, and Azmatullah Omarzai—haven’t yet had a major impact.
“Maxwell, Stoinis, Ferguson, Omarzai, whoever it’s going to be, you know they’re going to play a major part, win a game or two and have a major contribution along the line. So you put that in the back pocket and say, ‘Well, that’s going to happen at some point. So if we’re winning games without them, we’re in a pretty good place’. That’s as much I see from that performance. That is a really confident start for them based on some of their major players yet to make a major contribution,” said Knight.
After win on Tuesday night against LSG, PBKS will look to maintain their momentum and add another victory to their tally when they face Rajasthan Royals on April 5.
Lucknow, April 1: Lucknow Super Giants will host the Punjab Kings at the the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday in match 13 of the 2025 Indian Premier League campaign.
Led by captain Rishabh Pant, the Super Giants will head into the game brimming with confidence after they defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by five wickets at their home ground.
Having opened their account in IPL 2025, LSG will be looking to continue the winning momentum against the Kings at home.
Punjab Kings began their IPL 2025 campaign with a 11-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.
The Kings’ top order includes wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, opener Priyansh Arya and newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer. The likes of Azmatullah Omarzai, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh are expected to feature in their middle order. In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijaykumar Vyshak are their key options. Their opening game win against GT was an overall solid performance where Arya and Iyer set the foundation in the first innings and clutch death bowling by Vyshak secured the win
LSG vs PBKS head-to-head record in IPL
LSG have a superior head-to-head record against Punjab Kings in the IPL, having won three of the four matches.
The last time the two sides met, the former registered a 21-run home victory over the Kings in March 2024
Live Streaming details
Venue: The match will take place at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
When: April 1, 7:30 PM IST
Livestream: The clash between Lucknow and Punjab will be live-streamed on JioHotstar app and website
Broadcast: Star Sports Network
Squads:
Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, RS Hangargekar, Akash Maharaj Singh, Avesh Khan, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni
Punjab Kings: Josh Inglis(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas lyer(c), Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash
New Delhi, March 29: India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul joined the Delhi Capitals squad in Visakhapatnam on Saturday ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season on Sunday.
Rahul missed the DC’s season opener against Lucknow Super Giants last week due to the birth of his first child with actor wife Athiya Shetty. The couple welcomed a baby girl on March 24.
Taking to X, Delhi Capitals shared the video of Rahul’s arrival and wrote, “You’re loved. You’re ours. You’re home. Welcome to Dilli, KLR.”
In another post, the franchise shared a picture of Rahul in DC’s training jersey and captioned the post, “Let the games begin.”
Rahul is expected to make his Delhi debut in Visakhapatnam on Sunday against Sunrisers Hyderabad after being acquired by the franchise for Rs 14 crore in last year’s mega auction.
The Axar Patel-led side started the tournament on a winning note with a thrilling one-wicket win over Rahul’s former franchise Lucknow. Ashutosh Sharma smashed a 31-ball 66 not out to snatch victory from Lucknow’s jaw with a blistering knock studded with five sixes and as many fours.
After the match, Delhi players congratulated Rahul on becoming the new father by doing a ‘Mother’s Lap Baby Swing’ action.
On his move to Delhi, Rahul termed it both exciting and nerve-wracking for him after last year’s auction.
“This is a new experience for me – joining my fourth or fifth IPL franchise. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking. Every new team brings uncertainties – how the players will gel, how the management operates, and how the fans will react. But looking at our squad and how the management has built this team, we seem to have most areas covered,” said Rahul.
“There’s a great mix of seasoned players and young talent. I am eager to play alongside some incredibly skilled youngsters and learn from them as well. With players like Mitchell Starc, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav -many of whom I’ve played with before – we have a solid squad. I can’t wait for the IPL to begin.”
In 132 IPL matches, Rahul has amassed 4,683 runs at an average of 45.47. He has also scored four centuries and 37 fifties in the tournament so far after making his debut in 2013.
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