India’s players have to block the noise as they prepare to meet Rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup in the midst of controversy over their previous clashes, Skipper Suryakumar Yadav said on Saturday.
The eight-team tournament has been dominated by headlines about Pakistan and India’s first meetings on the field since the military conflict between the nuclear armed neighbors in May this year.
India prevailed in the politically charged group of A-match last week, but their players refused to shake their hands with their Pakistani opponents after the match.
Suryakumar dedicated India’s seven-wicket victory to their armed forces, while several of his teammates went to social media to express similar thoughts.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) called for matching Judge Andy Pycroft’s immediate removal for a coding of violation and considered withdrawing from the tournament before moving on with UAE match after the judge being offered apology.
Naqvi, flanked by former chairmen Ramiz Raja and Najam Sethi, told journalists at Gaddafi Stadium that Zimbabwe-based combat judge Andy Pycroft had formally apologized for national Captain Salman Ali Agha, the coach and team leader who recognized the concerns that were raised.
With the controversy that can probably rumble in the construction of Sunday’s clash, Suryakumar offered some blunt tips for teammates struggling to cope with external pressure.
“Close your room, turn off your phone and sleep. I think it’s the best. It’s easy to say, but sometimes it’s difficult,” he told journalists. “It’s on you what you want to listen to what you want in your mind.
“I’ve been very ready with all the boys. I think it’s very important if you want to do well in this tournament and in the future. We’ll have to close a lot of noise from the outside and take what’s good for you.”
Despite the triumph of India in their previous meeting, Suryakumar insisted that past results would count for nothing when rivals meet again in the Super Four match.
“I feel that our preparation has been really good leading into the tournament. We have also had three good games, so we actually focus on what we can do best,” he added.
“We will follow all the good habits we have done from the last two or three games. We take it one game at a time. It doesn’t give us an advantage that we played them once and we had a good game. We have to start from scratch.”
When asked about the historical rivalry – which was much more intense in the 2000s, he said, “At the time I don’t know. I never played. So I can’t say,” he laughed.
“If we talk about rivalry, I don’t know what kind of rivalry you are talking about. After walking on the ground, I feel the stadium is full. And when the stadium is full, I tell my team and everyone is time for entertainment. So many people have come to watch the match so you have to entertain everyone. Let’s play some good mark of cricket.
Another question asked Suryakumar about the ‘other things’ that India did against Pakistan, without explicitly mentioning the handshake, and he simply said, ‘By other things do you mean we bowled well, isn’t it?’
