‘Koi bhi uth kar challenge kar de raha hai’ – Fans react to Irish spinner Ben White’s ‘we are relishing the challenge’ remark ahead of T20I series against India

Team India recently suffered a humiliating defeat against the West Indies in the five-match T20I series and will now aim to make up for it with a dominant win against Ireland. However, the Men in Blue will not want to take their opponent lightly now, and that’s what Irish spinner Ben White had to say ahead of the three-match series starting on Friday, August 18 at The Village in Dublin.

White said that playing against the best team in the World is “huge”, but they are up for the challenge and capable of upsetting the visitors. Notably, Ireland will field their first-choice players for the series while India have opted for a young side to build a strong squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

“We can beat anyone on our day – you never know what can happen and you have to believe. Playing against India at home is huge, they’re the best team in the world but we are relishing the challenge,” White was quoted as saying to the BBC.

He’s been very good over the last years: White on Sanju Samson 

White, who has taken 21 wickets in 18 T20Is, admitted that the Indian players are better players of spin but he will not go defensive. The 24-year-old made a special mention of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who scored a half-century in the second T20I of their previous encounter in 2022.

“He’s been very good over the last years and they have some very exciting talent in their squad – in truth, I’ll be happy with anyone’s wicket. They are very good players of spin but I don’t think I would be more defensive. I’ll just be trying to take wickets and attacking,” White said.

“Everyone’s excited and we’ll eliminate pressure by playing the way we do. Every ball is an event and we have to stay one step ahead of them. We’ll enjoy it – with the big crowd they bring to the ground and they noise they make it should be a great spectacle,” he added.

When the two faced off last year at the same venue, India won the series 2-0. But in the second T20I, the hosts put up a brilliant performance as India managed to win by just four runs. Entering the series after qualifying for next year’s T20 World Cup, Ireland will be a more confident unit this time around.

Here’s how fans reacted to Ben White’s statement ahead of Ireland vs India T20I series:

https://twitter.com/TheCrickFun/status/1691886073595793517

https://twitter.com/ishivamkahar/status/1691886075881599205

https://twitter.com/SRK_The_KINGZ/status/1692010053564338185