The Indian assistant coach Ryan Ten gave a rare insight into the mood inside the Indian dressing room before the clash of the group with the high octan of Asia Cup with Pakistan, although the challenges for the nationwide boycott grow louder. Ten Dranschata said he was thinking about the advice of head coach Gautam Gambhir to remain professional and stated that the team was tuned from the noise surrounding the highly profile clash of the Asia Cup with Pakistan and fully focusing on its duties in the field.
The former Dutch dough added that while India-Pakistan boycott sentiments remain a sensitive problem, players strictly follow BCCI and Indian government directives. Many in India are unfortunate about the fact that men in Blue face Pakistan after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Kashmir early this year, which claimed 26 innocent lives.
“It is obviously a very sensitive problem, and I have no doubt that players share compassion and the vast majority of the Indian public. Look, Asia Cup has been in limbo for a long time and we just waited.
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It should be noted that the Indian government has clarified that the team would not be prevented from playing against Pakistan in versatile events, although bilateral ties remain outside the restriction.
Ten Dranschat admitted that at first he thought India did not have to travel to the Asia Cup because the schedule was uncertain. “But of course, you know what is the Indian government’s attitude, and now the team, and especially players, you have to put these sentiment and emotions behind you. In fact, it’s something we’ve been dealing with today at a team meeting. So we are aware of people’s feeling, but at the same time we think they can believe.”
Ten morning, it also confirmed that there was no special preparation for Pakistani match, which describes the accumulation as “business as usual”.
“Sure, preparing this week or focus did not differ from preparation any other important games. Pakistan began to cope with how they want to play T20 cricket, so it will be a somewhat different challenge from perhaps the last 24 months,” he said.
“But we want to focus on what we do and how we want to play is the most important thing for us, since Pakistan plays several times in this tournament, and apparently there will also be a world cup in the next six months.
Coach Gambhir, who at the beginning of this year opposed Pakistan, while the terrorist attacks continued, sent a simple message to the team: focus on the job.
“We knew that when it happened, it was probably the most frustrating part. Once we knew we were here and playing, we tried to continue the business. This game, especially, especially, as I said before.
“They just try to be without emotion when they are approaching the cricket side of things. The guys are now quite professional.
Asked if the players would make a statement on the pitch of earlier events, ten diplomatic remained. “I think the other side of the argument is that you separate sport and politics. Hopefully we can represent the way we play the way players feel about the country. We follow the direction of BCCI and the Indian government has decided what is right for the country at the moment,” he said.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
September 13, 2025
