Pakistan skipper Agha expects right spirit in clash against India at T20 WC

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha expects Sunday’s olitically charged ‌Twenty20 World Cup showdown with bitter rivals India to be played in the right ​spirit but is unsure about whether the customary pre-match handshakes between the teams ‌will happen.

The sides will ‌clash for the first time since last year’s Asia Cup final, a tense event staged following military conflict between India and Pakistan that nearly escalated into a fully-fledged war ‌between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The latest meeting comes after Pakistan, who were angered by Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament for refusing to play in India over security concerns, threatened to skip the contest before abandoning that plan.

“I expect game should be played in the spirit that it has always been played since its inception,” Pakistan captain Agha told reporters in Colombo on Saturday.

India beat Pakistan three times in the Asia Cup, including ​in the September 28 final in Dubai, but refused to shake hands with ‌their opponents before or after matches.

“We’ll find out tomorrow (if it happens),” Agha said.

Pakistan’s boycott threat put at risk one of the sport’s most lucrative fixtures, leaving broadcasters fearing millions of dollars would be lost in advertising revenue.

India's Ishan Kishan attends a practice session on the eve of their World Cup match against Pakistan. Agence France-Presse

The International Cricket Council (ICC) held a series of negotiations before securing a compromise to ensure the match would go ahead as planned.

“India v Pakistan ​is a game ‌of high magnitude ... Tomorrow’s game is no different,” Agha added.

“From our side, before ‌heading into the tournament, we were prepared for all possible scenarios - whether the game would go ahead or not.”

Agha said the captains carried much of the pressure.

“It’s an added responsibility when ‌you are the ‌captain of your side and you’re representing your country,” he said.

“You can’t run away from the responsibility. When ‌you’re representing your country and captaining a side, there will be pressure. You just need to find a way to deal with that.”

With the threat of rain on Sunday looming large, Agha said Pakistan were ready to ​adapt.

“We cannot control that but we’re ready to make adjustments if the game gets shortened,” he said.

Both teams have won their opening two matches of the tournament. Meanwhile, India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted Saturday that no matter how much his team tried to prepare for Sunday’s T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan as “just another game”, it would be much more than that.

“It’s a big platform, obviously,” Suryakumar told reporters in Colombo, venue for Sunday’s massive Group A showdown.

“No matter how much you say that it’s just another game, it is a big game.”

The biggest and most lucrative clash in world cricket has sold out the 35,000-capacity R. Premadasa stadium with hundreds of millions more expected to watch on television.

The game was only confirmed as going ahead late on Monday night after the Islamabad government made a U-turn on its order to boycott the blockbuster Group A game.

“We don’t play them often, don’t even play them regularly,” said the Indian skipper.

“But at the end of the day, we try to keep things simple and try to execute our best game.

“There is pressure, but there is a big opportunity,” said Suryakumar.

“According to me, when you play an India-Pakistan game, it’s more about the occasion.”

The Indian captain would not say whether his players would shake hands after snubbing the Pakistan team in three Asia Cup meetings in Dubai last year.

“I will break the suspense tomorrow,” he said.

“Wait for 24 hours, let us play the game which is more important.”

India achieved a hard-fought 29-run win against United States in their first match of their title defence in Mumbai a week ago, before crushing Namibia by 93 runs in Delhi on Thursday.

But Suryakuma played down the hype around Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq and his unique sling-arm bowling action that has an exaggerated pause in the delivery stride.

“We have practised with similar types of bowlers and similar actions so we will try to execute what we are practising in the night sessions,” said Suryakumar.

Suryakumar said dashing opener Abhishek Sharma has recovered well from a stomach bug and was likely to play.

Both Pakistan and India have won their opening two Group A matches and the winners will qualify for the Super Eight Stage.

Agencies