Indian skipper Suryakumar plays down advantage talks

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav played down the talks of having an edge over Pakistan in their Super Four match of the Asia Cup on Sunday.

India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in their round robin match, which also entailed the infamous handshake controversy. The Indian team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterpart, citing the Pahalgam attacks as the reason. Match referee Andy Pycroft was also in the centre of the handshake row.

He reportedly asked Pakistan captain Salman Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar after the toss.

PCB demanded the removal of Pycroft from the elite panel of referees but ICC, which is headed by Jay Shah — son of powerful home minister Amit Shah — refused to fulfill Pakistan’s demand and he only officiated in their next match against the UAE.

India completed their round robin phase unbeaten with a nervy win against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

After posting 188/8, India restricted Oman to 167/4 in their last group game to remain unbeaten. India played with a depleted bowling attack sans Jasprit Bumrah.

Suryakumar used eight bowlers against Oman and did not come out to bat and gave all his batsmen a chance for some match practice ahead of the important game against the arch-rivals.

Before Oman’s match, India had barely batted for 20 overs in their first two games against UAE and Pakistan combined.

“I feel our preparations have been really good leading into this tournament. We had three good games. We are actually focusing on what we can do to get the best possible result,” said Surykumar. “We want to follow all the good habits that we have been doing in the last two or three games. And we will take one game at a time,” he added.

But he ruled out having any kind of advantage over the arch rivals. India are likely to field a full-strength team against Pakistan with Kuldeep Yadav-led spin attack being in the spotlight.

Kuldeep is the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight scalps from three games. He is closely followed by team-mate Varun Chakravarthy.

“But at the same time, it doesn’t give us an edge that we have played them once, we had a good game. We will have to start from scratch and whoever plays well will win the game,” he stressed.

He also urged his team-mates to shut the outside noise before the big match against Pakistan.

“Go to your room. Shut your phone and sleep. We don’t think that much. We’ve played three games now, and winning all three has been equally enjoyable. The one vs Oman was just as much fun as the previous game,” he said.

“I feel we always get our country’s support. We get support in every game we play.”

The Indian skipper also promised that the 1.4 billion Indians back home would have a “fantastic Sunday.”

“It is a Sunday, so more people will watch the match. They should just sit and enjoy the game. We will play with the same intensity and the same energy. We always try to bring our best game, as always,” he added.

“All the matches I have played for India have always been a proud moment for me. Every time I step out wearing the team’s jersey, I am always excited. I am always proud to be part of this team,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Pakistan have a quite a few holes to plug. They are not clicking as a unit. If their batting clicks, bowling fails and if their bowling does well their batsmen fail.

Pakistan’s main problem is their batting, especially the opening partnership. Both the openers, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are out of form.

Farhan scored a fighting 40 against India in the last match, which was his highest score in the last seven innings, while Ayub has not scored a single run in the tournament.

However, Ayub has been among the wickets but that would not be enough to fetch him a place in the playing XI against India. Whereas Shaheen Afridi has been in exceptional form with the bat, as his two blitzes against India and the UAE lifted Pakistan to a fighting total.

Pakistan cancelled their pre-match conference due to unknown reasons. This is the second time in three matches Pakistan cancelled their pre-match conference.

After the match against the UAE, Pakistan captain Agha had urged his batters to spend more time on the pitch so that they can play a full 20 overs and post a fighting total.

Their pace attack, led by Shaheen with Haris Rauf complementing him, is satisfactory. In spin, Abrar Ahmed is well supported by Ayub with Mohammad Nawaz and Agha doing the responsibility of part-time spinners.