Iyer wants India to focus on process at Asian Games

India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer is relishing the opportunity to represent India at the Asian Games, with the 31-year-old determined to embrace the expectations that come with leading the side.

India begin their men’s campaign against Afghanistan in the quarter-final stage, as Iyer highlights the importance of focusing on the process rather than the outcome as they look to set a high standard throughout the tournament.

“It’s an honour to be representing India in Asian Games and captaining it at the same time,” Iyer said during the pre-match press conference.

“When you represent India, there are always expectations that you have to finish at the top. And that is a good pressure.

“When there are expectations, you want to deliver. At the same time, I feel that we should not think much about the outcome. And we have set a standard as a team.

“We keep trying to transcend that standard in every match.”

With the Asian Games also forming part of India’s preparation ahead of cricket's return to Olympics in 2028, Iyer stressed the value of every opportunity to take the field.

“Every match is important. Because you get practice from every match. You get the opportunity to play with new teams. So, the way cricket is growing, the competition is increasing. And it’s good for cricket overall.

“We will get opportunities, we will get the chance to play matches. There are a lot of matches ahead of the Asian Games. So, we will have to maintain good fitness and mindset.”

India’s opening fixture against Afghanistan will also test their ability to adapt to unfamiliar conditions in Japan, but they aren't a side India haven't had the edge over in recent years.

India's most-recent 3-0 rout against them will further give them the added boost and Iyer expects to give in their best to overcome the challenge, especially posed by varying wickets at the Asian Games.

“Not only Afghanistan, any team in the Asian Games. Like Japan, gave us a very good competition. Because the wicket here cannot be set in a particular standard. It is very important to adapt.

“It will be challenging and difficult for every team. Whichever team plays well, we will definitely go for the match from that point of view.”

India squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi