ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 19, 2022

Aryan Lakra

Kardinia Park

UAE

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Obviously at this point it's your first T20 World Cup match. How did it feel out there?

ARYAN LAKRA: Definitely I think it was a great honour presenting the country in a World Cup, and I know the result didn't go our way, but definitely a lot of things to learn, and a lot of things to take back from this tournament, and hopefully we come back strong the next time.

Q. After the game last night what was sort of said about everything?

ARYAN LAKRA: I think definitely the guys were feeling a bit dejected because definitely the teams worked hard. As a squad we've put in the hours. But the game is such, you cannot expect yourself to win every time. We're just going to keep trying and trying harder. We still have one more game left, and we definitely want to get a win on the board, and then we leave from there.

Q. Over the past few weeks, you've had a couple of games against Bangladesh, one against West Indies, one against Sri Lanka. Does it show you what sort of level you need to get to as cricketers having games like that, and do you want more games against top opposition like that in the future?

ARYAN LAKRA: I think definitely games against top opposition is always a good learning curve for the team, and as a side we have shown that we can compete with them because there have been phases when we have been completely dominating the game. I think it comes down to experience because they have more experience than us so they know how to finish games, they know how to come back on top when they are not in position to win.

That's just something we'll learn the more games we play as a squad, and hopefully in the near future we can start causing those big upsets.

Q. After what happened yesterday with Karthik's hat trick, obviously he was your understudy in the under-19 team when you had captained a few years ago. What's it like (indiscernible) including Al Asham, obviously four of you together for that moment. What was that like yesterday?

ARYAN LAKRA: Definitely that was surreal for any of us because the four of us, we have been playing cricket together for so long, so if anyone does well, we all feel proud, and definitely a hat trick in a World Cup against a Test playing nation is a huge deal, and we couldn't be happier for him. We have been talking about it all night and we still cannot believe it. We are just so happy that a friend of ours who we have seen grow through the ranks, who we have seen as a 14 year old, growing to be a 20 year old, getting a hat trick in a World Cup, that's definitely a huge deal, and we are really, really happy for him.

Q. About the game tomorrow, as a team that had lots of games against Namibia in the past, what are your strengths or where do you think you can get at them as a team?

ARYAN LAKRA: Definitely Namibia has been playing some good cricket, upsetting Sri Lanka, but at the end of the day it's the game of cricket. The team which plays better cricket is going to win. We have played against Namibia so we know their batters, bowlers. It's all about coming up with a good plan and trying to execute it to its best.