Pakistan gearing up for India rematch, says captain Salman after UAE romp

Pakistan captain Salman Agha said his team were ready to face India in the next round of the Asia Cup on Sunday after last week’s group-stage match between the arch-rivals ended in acrimony when the Indian side refused to shake hands.

Pakistan beat UAE in their final Group A game on Wednesday to advance to the Super Fours stage, where they will also play two teams from Group B in a round robin format.

Bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan has been suspended since 2013 and they play each other only in multi-team tournaments.

“We are ready, we are ready for any challenge,” Salman said after their 41-run victory against UAE.

“We just want to play good cricket. If we play good cricket, like we have played in the last few months, I think we’ll be good against any side.”

Fakhar Zaman made 50 but Pakistan’s frontline batters disappointed against UAE’s modest attack with opener Saim Ayub falling for his third successive duck in the tournament. Salman acknowledged they had to bat better.

“We got the job done but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order,” Salman said.

“That’s been a concern and something we need to work on.”

India had cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan last weekend in the first cricket match between the sides since a four-day military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.

While the match itself passed without incident, there was no shaking of hands between the captains at the toss or among the players at the end. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav dedicated their victory to the armed forces back home.

The Pakistan Cricket Board called for match referee Andy Pycroft’s immediate removal for a code of conduct “violation” and considered withdrawing from the tournament before going ahead with Wednesday’s match.

India and Pakistan could meet for a third time at the tournament if they both reach the Sept.28 final.

Meanwhile, Agha has called on his team to sharpen their batting in the middle overs. His comments came after Pakistan’s 41-run victory over the UAE, a result that sealed their place in the next stage of the tournament but did little to hide the batting frailties that continue to dog the side.

“We got the job done but we needed to bat better in the middle overs,” Agha said after the game.

“The bowlers did well. We haven’t batted to our best yet. If we batted well, we would have ended up with 170-180. Shaheen is a match winner. His batting has improved. Abrar has been outstanding.

“He is someone who is bringing us back into the games. We are ready for any challenge. If we play good cricket, we can be good against any side.”

Pakistan managed only 146/9 against the UAE, rescued by a late surge from Shaheen Shah Afridi, who struck an unbeaten 29 off 14 balls.

The top and middle order, however, once again failed to fire. Saim Ayub is yet to open his account in three matches, while Agha himself has struggled to impose authority in the middle overs.

The skipper reiterated that turning those phases into strong batting passages remains critical. “Yeah, we’re ready for any challenge,” Agha said.

“We just want to play good cricket, and if we play good cricket like we’ve been playing for the last few months.”

He added that Pakistan must specifically address their stumbles between overs 7 and 15, which have repeatedly left them short of par totals.

The looming contest against India is set against a heated backdrop. Their last meeting in the group stage ended in a seven-wicket win for India, but the game was overshadowed by post-match tensions when the Indian team refused to shake hands, an incident linked to wider political strains following the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year.

The so-called “no-handshake controversy” has since fanned the flames of an already intense rivalry, and with both sides now in the Super Four, the stakes are even higher. For Pakistan, a sharper batting display could be the difference between surviving India’s bowling attack and suffering another setback.

“We just want to play good cricket... If we play good cricket, we can be good against any side,” he concluded

Agencies