Salman Agha, the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, on Wednesday said the squad is ready to face India in the two teams’ next Asia Cup match-up on Sunday after the national team lost against the rivals in the group match stage last week.
On Wednesday, Pakistan defeated the United Arab Emirates in the final Group A game, advancing to the Super Fours stage. Pakistan would now play two teams from Group B in a round robin format.
“We are ready, we are ready for any challenge,” Agha said after the win against the U.A.E. “We just want to play good cricket. If we play good cricket, like we have played in the last few months, I think we’ll be good against any side,” he said.
Pakistan won against the U.A.E. by 41 runs though was restricted to just 146 runs. Agha admitted to media the team needed to improve its batting. “We got the job done, but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order,” he said, maintaining the team is working on it.
India controversy
The match against the U.A.E. almost didn’t proceed, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened a boycott over an exchange between referee Andy Pycroft and Agha ahead of the match.
Ahead of the first match between Pakistan and India since a military conflict between the two in May, neither captain shook hands after the toss or at the end. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav then dedicated their victory to India’s armed forces, which critics described as “politicizing” the game.
Subsequently, the PCB called for the suspension of Pycroft, alleging he had told Ali Agha not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart before the match. The matter was ultimately resolved minutes before the U.A.E. match, with the PCB saying Pycroft had apologized to the manager and captain of the Pakistan team.
Addressing a press conference alongside former chairmen Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said that the country’s honor was intact. He said the PCB had lodged a formal request with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate the breaches [of code of conduct] that occurred during the Sept. 14 fixture.
“I consulted former chairmen Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja on the matter. Thank God, Pakistan’s honor has been preserved, and now we expect the team to focus on their performance,” he added.
Both Sethi and Raja noted that Pycroft had shown bias in favor of the Indian team. Sethi further maintained the PCB had always emphasized delinking politics from the sport.