India skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Thursday said his team would travel to Colombo for their ICC T20 World Cup match against Pakistan even though the neighbouring country has announced a boycott of the game.
India are scheduled to face the archrivals on February 15, but Pakistan’s cricket team has been told by its government to skip the game after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play in India on account of “security concerns”. “I feel their decision is not in my control. I wish I could take their decisions, but it is their call. We had played in the Asia Cup as well and we played them three times,” Suryakumar said during the pre-tournament captains’ press meet here.
The World Cup begins on Saturday and India will take on USA in its opening match on the same evening. “Our mindset is pretty clear. We have not said no to playing against Pakistan. They have. The ICC has given the fixture. Our flight is booked and we are going there to Colombo. The team discussion is that we are playing first on February 7, then we will go there,” he said.
“We played some good cricket against them. We have been told that the game is on 15th, the game is at a neutral venue and if we get an opportunity, we will play. It’s a difficult call for Pakistani players as well,” he observed.
Suryakumar said the secret behind India’s success in the shortest format was down to having a similar mindset across competitions as the co-hosts of T20 World Cup go into the ICC event with the tag of overwhelming favourites. He also provided a fitness update on Washington Sundar and said the all-rounder will not be rushed to make a comeback.
“We have been playing some good brand of cricket, but I think we have changed our thinking,” said Suryakumar. “Earlier, we used to play bilateral series differently than the ICC tournaments, but now, be it an ICC event or the Asia Cup or even a bilateral match, we try to play in the same manner.”
“Even now, the kind of cricket we’ve been playing for the last year, we will try to play the same way (in T20 World Cup). And if we play well, the result will also be on our side,” he added.
The Indian skipper said the team wants to give Washington enough time to comeback strong “one hundred per cent”. “Tilak Varma got a break, he couldn't play the New Zealand series and when he came back, he was a different player. He played an A-series game (warm-up match between India A and USA) and also yesterday (on Wednesday against South Africa). We are hoping Washington will also (go) the same (way),” Suryakumar said.
Also read: Pak skipper says it’s govt’s decision, not in their control
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