We are absolutely capable of beating India: American pacer Ali Khan [Exclusive]

Ali also admitted that he would have liked to dismiss Virat Kohli in the 2024 encounter. The 35-year-old also said that he wants to claim the wicket of Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Ali further said that playing against big teams like India was rare but inspiring for the players.

Ali has impressed the cricket fraternity with his right-arm pace and has caught the attention of several analysts. Ali has played 15 ODIs and 18 T20Is so far and collected 33 and 16 wickets respectively.

Q) India is one of the strongest teams in world cricket. What goes through your mind when you face such a side?

India are probably the best side in the world right now, especially in T20 cricket. They are the defending champions. Playing them in the last World Cup gave us a lot of confidence because it was a very close match and I really feel we could have won it. That match gave us a lot of confidence going into this World Cup. It will always be a challenge to play for such a big team, but I think we are good enough. We are preparing very well for this World Cup and I think we are definitely capable of winning against India.

Q) One Indian batsman you would like to dismiss and why?

I would have liked to dismiss Virat, but I couldn’t bowl against him. He got out early before I went bowling in the last World Cup. Now he is not part of the Indian line-up but maybe one day I will play against him and take his wicket. As far as this T20 World Cup is concerned, India have a lot of crucial batters in the line-up, but one batsman who can really change the game is their captain, Suryakumar Yadav. If I can get his wicket, that would be very good.

Q) You were part of the ICC T20 WC 2024 match against India. Have you taken advice from legends like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli?

It’s always inspiring to play against such big names in cricket and it was certainly very motivating for us. Talking to them after the game was not only motivating for me, but for all the other guys as well. It gives us a lot of experience and confidence. I think it’s a process that every player goes through when he plays against such big teams. It’s definitely a big learning curve for everyone, and it really builds confidence going into the next game. Especially for a team like the US, we can’t always play these big teams, the full-member teams, because we’re not in the top twelve. We don’t get many opportunities to play against such big teams. But whenever we get the chance, it’s always an opportunity for us to learn from these legends.

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