India deputy skipper Shikhar Dhawan has assured that Team India will be feeling complacent while locking horns with Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final. He said that they are in no mood of taking Bangladesh lightly in the summit clash, on Friday. Bangladesh outclassed Pakistan by 37 runs in the last Super Four game to set up a date with India in the final and Shikhar reckons that they have to be on the top of their game if India is to beat their Asian rivals and clinch record seven titles.

During the press conference on the eve of the final, Dhawan said, “All the teams in the tournament have been very competitive. Everyone was thinking that India and Pakistan will meet in the final but Bangladesh beat them by playing good cricket. We cannot take them lightly because Pakistan is a bigger name but Bangladesh got the better of them. There is a big difference between a team on paper and players playing on the ground. So the team which plays better on the field, they are regarded as the bigger team.”

This will be the second consecutive Asia Cup final between India and Bangladesh and it will also be a second multi-national final between them this year. Earlier, India beat Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final and when asked about Bangladesh’s choking habits in big games, Dhawan jumped to their defense and praised the ‘Bangla Tigers’ for playing good consistent cricket.

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Shikhar explained, “You can see that they have a good support staff and they play good consistent cricket. They have got many experienced players in the side who know their role and play according to the strategy. Their players know how to play under pressure and they no longer have problems playing against the big teams. Bangladesh has been playing cricket only for 18 years and so, it takes time (to win finals). Sometimes, it takes teams so much time to even reach the final. I believe that we will see Bangladesh crossing the line soon, as far as winning titles is concerned.”

Dhawan also asserted that Virat Kohli’s absence hasn’t resulted in the change of mindset of the team. He said that the veteran was rested to find players for the future and give players in the middle-order opportunity to prove their mettle. In the absence of Kohli, Rohit Sharma has been performing the captaincy duties in the UAE while his opening partner Dhawan was made his deputy.

Talking about the same, the southpaw clarified, “There is no pressure of vice-captaincy on me. All the pressure is on our captain (laughs), I am just enjoying my time as the vice-captain of the team. As far as my batting is concerned, it remains the same. I won’t change my game just because I have been made the vice-captain.”