Pakistan captain Salman Agha said his team is ready to face India in the next round of the Asia Cup on Sunday, following last week’s tense group-stage match that ended controversially when the Indian side refused to shake hands.
Pakistan secured a spot in the Super Fours by defeating the United Arab Emirates in their final Group A match on Wednesday. In the next stage, they will face two teams from Group B in a round-robin format.
Bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan has been suspended since 2013, meaning encounters between the arch-rivals now occur only in multi-nation tournaments.
“We are ready, we are ready for any challenge,” Salman said after Pakistan’s 41-run victory over UAE. “We just want to play good cricket. If we play good cricket, like we have in the last few months, I think we'll be strong against any side.”
Fakhar Zaman scored 50, but Pakistan’s frontline batsmen struggled against UAE’s modest attack, with opener Saim Ayub dismissed for his third consecutive duck in the tournament.
Salman acknowledged the need for improvement in the middle order.
“We got the job done, but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order,” he said. “That's been a concern and something we need to work on.”
India had cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan last weekend in the first match between the sides since a four-day military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May. While the game itself passed without incident, there was no handshake between the captains at the toss or among players at the end. India captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the win to the armed forces back home.
The Pakistan Cricket Board called for match referee Andy Pycroft’s immediate removal for a code of conduct “violation” and briefly considered withdrawing from the tournament before proceeding with Wednesday’s match.
India and Pakistan could meet for a third time in the tournament if both reach the September 28 final.
