Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar feels no other team in the sport has to deal with as much pressure as India due to the massive fan following and eyeballs that it generates whenever the players take the field.
The pressure will be on the Men in Blue once again as they gear up for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka.
And the first match itself is going to be a bluckbuster as India face Pakistan at the Pallekele International Stadium on September 2.
Rohit Sharma and Co. will have to be at their best when they take on the Men in Green with over a billion people watching and many more praying for Team India.
"I don't think there's any other cricket team in the world which is under as much pressure of expectation like the Indian team.
"Every match the Indian team plays, the fans, followers expect and want the Indian team to win," Gavaskar said at an event on Tuesday.
Untested India set for Asia Cup challenge
India have a strong 17-man squad that will travel to the Asia Cup but several players are returning to the ODI team from injury layoffs and haven't played any 50-overs cricket for a long time.
Coming back into the team and straightaway delivering for India will be a challenge to say the least for the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
Rahul in fact, is still not fully fit and carrying a niggle due to which he won't be available for the first two ODIs in the tournament.
Bumrah, who returned to the national team this month after nearly a year on the sidelines, showed good form when he led India in the T20I series in Ireland but bowling four overs at full tilt and bowling the complete quota of 10 overs at high intensity are two different things.
With the ICC World Cup less than two months away, a lot will depend on how these set of players perform in Sri Lanka and whether they are able to grab the seventh Asia Cup title.
