India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her team is only focused on cricket ahead of Sunday’s Women’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, adding that discussions within the team are only about the game.India and Pakistan will meet in the Group A match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The match comes against the backdrop of recent cases in which Indian teams did not exchange handshakes with Pakistani players. In last year’s ODI World Cup, Harmanpreet and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana did not shake hands during the toss.
Since last year’s men’s Asian Cup, players from both the men’s and women’s national teams have not shaken hands with Pakistani players.
The approach taken by Suryakumar Yadav’s side in the Asia Cup has also been followed in the Women’s World Cup, U-19 World Cup, Rising Stars Asia Cup and Men’s T20 World Cup.Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match, Harmanpreet said that the team is only focused on the challenge of cricket.“I think we’re here for cricket, and we’re just talking about cricket, except we’re not talking about anything, and I’m not even talking about anything except cricket.
Cricket has been our dream since day one, we only discuss cricket and tomorrow’s match, we only think about it. “It’s another game we’re going to play,” Kaur said.The India skipper admitted that matches against Pakistan bring extra pressure, but said that dealing with that pressure and enjoying it is part of international cricket.“For sure, the pressure will be there. When we play against Pakistan, the pressure will be there.
But at the same time, it’s just about how you enjoy that pressure. Because in any international match, the pressure is going to be there. “It’s just about giving 100% to that match and enjoying every moment,” she added.India enters the tournament after ending their ICC title wait by winning the ODI World Cup last year. They will now look to add the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy to their wardrobe.Women in Blue have reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup five times and played one final, but are yet to win the tournament.
