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Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at Colombo, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav spoke on the possibility of shaking hands with the Pakistani skipper, saying "he will break the suspense tomorrow".
After the boycott call by the Pakistani government ended, the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan is taking place in Colombo. However, after a lot of off the field drama involving the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), there is still a chance that another off-field controversy could take place due to the 'no handshake' policy being followed by Team India since the last year's Asia Cup. Following the attack in Pahalgam in April last year and rising tensions between the two nations, the senior Indian men's cricket team had refrained from shaking hands with Pakistan players before or after matches throughout the Asia Cup 2025 trilogy. This 'no handshake' trend continued in subsequent encounters between India and Pakistan in various ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments, including the Asia Cup Rising Stars and the Under-19 Cricket World Cup matches. Speaking during the pre-match presser, Suryakumar said, "24 ghanta ruk jaao na uske liye? Why put so much stress on that? We have come to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls later tomorrow. Wait for it. Eat well and go to sleep. Kal kar deta hu na break suspense. Abhi important kya hai abhi? Game na, ruk jaao 24 ghanta (Wait 24 hours for that? Why put so much stress on that? We have come to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls later tomorrow. Wait for it. Eat well and go to sleep. I will break the suspense tomorrow. What is important now, the game, wait for 24 hours)." During the Asia Cup, Bumrah was used for three overs in the powerplay, and since then, his powerplay usage has been much more limited, saving him for death overs. On this, the Indian skipper said he wants to have different plans for a different day/game, with a bowling attack as good as the one he has. "I do not want to go with a set plan when I am going out with this wonderful bowling unit. When you go on the ground, take a field in a game. What comes to your mind at that time? I think that is more important than thinking about what has worked before. And what could go really well if I bowl Bumrah or any other bowler in the powerplay? If he has to bowl 3 overs, he might bowl 3 overs. If he has to bowl an over and then bowl 3 overs later on. If it works on a given day, we will use the bowlers like that," he added. (ANI)
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