Pakistan’s frontline pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi avoided giving a direct response to India captain Suryakumar Yadav's view that Indo-Pak games should not be considered a rivalry anymore due to India's dominance, insisting that his team's focus is on winning the Asia Cup.
Addressing a pre-match press conference ahead of their must-win last Super 4 game against Bangladesh on Thursday, Afridi evaded queries on Suryakumar's comments. “That's his view, let him say. When we meet in a likely Asia Cup final on Sunday, we will see ‘kya hai, kya nahi. Tab dekh lenge’. We are here to win the Asia Cup and we will give our best effort for that," Afridi said.
Suryakumar had stated that for a rivalry to be considered real, the gulf in results cannot be 12-3, which is where the India-Pakistan T20I head-to-head currently stands. The two teams have played each other twice in the ongoing tournament and India have won on both the occasions.
The tensions between the two sides are running high after the Indian team refused the customary handshake before and after the games to show solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in which Pakistan-backed terrorists were involved.
Also read: Asia Cup 2025: India wins against Pakistan by 6 wickets
The matches have been affected by Pakistani players' aggressive gestures towards fans as well as rival players. Asked if the aggression had been planned by the likes of Haris Rauf, who mocked Indian fans, and Sahibzada Farhan Afridi, whose provocative gun-firing celebration during their Super 4 game against India on Sunday also caused a controversy, Afridi said, "There is no specific plan to be aggressive, we have always been aggressive, from the time we started playing. This is how cricket is played and the team’s morale is kept high."
Asked if the team is discussing the possible Indo-Pak clash in the final, he said, "We are not in the final yet. When we reach, we will think about it." Asked about "what's been going on" between the two teams, Afridi first responded with a cheeky, "Kya chal raha hai?" On being specifically asked about Rauf and Farhan, Afridi once again evaded a direct reply. "Our job is to play cricket, people can think what they want. We are here to win Asia Cup. We are trying our best to fulfil Pakistan's hopes," he said.
Asked why Pakistan was not so convincing in its chase of 133 against Sri Lanka in their Super 4 tie in Abu Dhabi, Afridi said the nature of the format is such that it is difficult for all players to click at once. "Credit to Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz for handling pressure. T20 is like this only, everyone doesn't perform at the same time," he said.
Afridi said it is not that Pakistan are not winning, but it is the performance against bigger teams that matters. “I don't think our fast bowlers are struggling, but we should have more variation in our bowling and we are striving for that," he added.
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