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Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha addressed reports that India’s Suryakumar Yadav had decided to skip the pre-final captain’s photoshoot with the Asia Cup trophy. Team India made a strong statement against Pakistan by refusing the traditional handshake with their players at the toss and after the match. Both league and Super Four stages of the tournament were overshadowed by extravagant celebrations and heated exchanges between players. It has only intensified the rivalry between the two teams, but when it comes to play, India have completely dominated Pakistan on both occasions so far.
Agha reacted to reports and said he doesn’t care about it much, and the Pakistan team will follow the Asian Cricket Council protocol.
“They can do whatever they want, we will just follow the protocol. The rest is up to them—if they want to come, they come, and if they don’t, we can’t do anything,” Agha told reporters during a press interaction ahead of Sunday’s clash.
The Pakistan captain dismissed all external distractions ahead of the Asia Cup final, stressing that the team is fully focused on playing good cricket and aiming for victory.
“We don’t focus on what we can’t control. Media talk, outside noise—we ignore it. Our goal is the Asia Cup. We came here to play good cricket, and tomorrow we’ll aim to win the final,” he said.
“India-Pakistan games always carry pressure”
India dominated Pakistan on both occasions, first in the group stage and again in the Super Fours, led by opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy, the top-ranked batter and bowler in T20 cricket.
After the Super Four clash, India captain Suryakumar Yadav stated that the cricketing rivalry with Pakistan has faded, pointing to India’s recent dominant record against them.
However, Agha asserted that the IND-PAK clash still carries the same pressure. He admitted that his team’s mistakes cost them in previous encounters and stressed that minimising errors will be the focus in the Asia Cup final.
“Yes, Pakistan-India games always carry pressure. If I say otherwise, it would be wrong. But the truth is, we made more mistakes than them, which is why we lost. In these games, the team that makes fewer mistakes usually wins. Tomorrow, our goal is to reduce mistakes,” he said.
