Japan skipper Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming is expecting a lot of support for the Indian team on September 22 at the Sano International Ground when his team faces Shreyas Iyer and his troops.
Speaking on Wisden’s The Scoop, Kendel revealed that he isn’t worrying much about India’s swashbuckling opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He stated that Japan has a 17-year-old left-arm spinner, Charlie Hara-Hinze, in their team who has dismissed Sooryavanshi before.
He did so in the U19 Asia Cup in 2024 in a One-Day game in Sharjah. Sooryavanshi scored 23 runs with three fours and a six before getting out to Charlie in the eighth over of the innings.
Kendel looked very confident of getting out the Indian opener as he said, “Well, our young 17-year-old left-arm spinner has actually got him out before in an Asia Cup at Under-19 level, so we’ve got him sorted. Don’t worry.”
Kendel was speaking about Charlie Hara-Hinze, who had dismissed Sooryavanshi for a run-a-ball 23 when the U19 sides had met in Sharjah in 2024.
The Asian Games will be under progress when India and Japan will face off on September 22. Kendel expects a lot of fans at the stadium. The organisers are ramping up preparations.
“I believe they’re trying to get some temporary stands in there at the moment,” said Kendel. “We do have two stands that sit there normally, and we can fit around 500 people in the ground. But I understand we’re expecting around 2,000 to 3,000 for this match.
“Obviously, these Indian players are A-list celebrities, and I think we’ll have plenty of supporters – Indian supporters of cricket – coming from Tokyo and everywhere around the country. So there’s going to be plenty of security and probably logistical measures that we haven’t experienced in Japan before. But, yeah, I mean, I don’t know what to expect. Even hearing you talk about India playing a cricket match against Japan sounds surreal. I can’t wait.”
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