T20 World Cup: Will India shake hands with Pakistan on Sunday? Suryakumar Yadav says ‘wait and watch’

India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday declined to clarify whether his team would shake hands with Pakistan during their T20 World Cup clash in Colombo on Sunday.

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)."



Earlier, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha also avoided giving a direct answer on whether his team would follow the customary handshake, but said he expects both sides to uphold the spirit of cricket.

“We will see about it tomorrow,” Agha said when asked about the handshake protocol.

Suryakumar had previously announced during the Asia Cup in Dubai last September that India would not shake hands with Pakistan as a mark of respect for Indian citizens who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year. The decision was also described as a gesture of solidarity with the Indian Army during Operation Sindoor.

Meanwhile, speaking about Sunday's contest, Surya acknowledged that Pakistan might have a slight advantage as they arrived in Colombo earlier, but emphasised that India is fully prepared. “They may have arrived earlier, but we have our own plans in place,” he said.

He also confirmed that all-rounder Washington Sundar is fit and available for selection.

On Bumrah, who is increasingly being used during the death overs, 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.

Surya also spoke on strategies against Pakistani bowler Usman Tariq. "Sometimes a out of syllabus question comes up in the exam. So we can't ignore it. To tackle it, you have to try something. You have to adopt your own method, and that's how we try. He is a different character when it comes to bowling, but at the same time, we can't surrender. So, we practice with similar types of bowlers and similar actions, and we will obviously try to execute only that," he said.

With ANI Inputs