India begin their Champions Trophy campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4 in Birmingham, but Virat Kohli played down the hype surrounding the hotly-anticipated clash.

“As a cricketer you can’t even think of the non-striker when you are facing a ball, so forget about things that are not in our control,” Kohli said of playing Pakistan amid a tense political climate between the rivals.

“Yes, an India-Pakistan game is always exciting for all the fans watching but for us as cricketers, it’s just a game of cricket.”

Kohli suffered a shoulder injury during the Australia series to miss the final game. He then returned to skipper Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore, only to see them end last in the ladder.

But he was confident the Twenty20 tournament had made him match-fit, a boon ahead of the short-format Champions Trophy event.

“I don’t think you can have too much similarity in both formats but getting some game time it helps a lot of people to stay in the zone of being match-fit,” he said.

“IPL allows you to be in that zone. Play against the world class players from all the teams. It could be the most competitive game that you could be a part of (in IPL) before the Champions Trophy.”

Provided by AFP