Suryakumar says India-Pakistan clash is 'not just another game'

INDIA captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted on Saturday that no matter how much his team tried to prepare for Sunday’s T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan as “just another game”, it would be much more than that.

“It’s a big platform, obviously,” Suryakumar told reporters in Colombo, the venue for Sunday’s massive Group A showdown.

“No matter how much you say that it’s just another game, it is a big game.”

The biggest and most lucrative clash in world cricket has sold out the 35,000-capacity R Premadasa Stadium, with hundreds of millions more expected to watch on television.

The game was only confirmed as going ahead late on Monday night after the Islamabad government made a U-turn on its order to boycott the blockbuster Group A game.

“We don’t play them often, don’t even play them regularly,” said the Indian skipper.

“But at the end of the day, we try to keep things simple and try to execute our best game.

“There is pressure, but there is a big opportunity,” said Suryakumar.

“According to me, when you play an India-Pakistan game, it’s more about the occasion.”

The Indian captain would not say whether his players would shake hands after snubbing the Pakistan team in three Asia Cup meetings in Dubai last year.

“I will break the suspense tomorrow,” he said.

“Wait for 24 hours, let us play the game which is more important.”

India achieved a hard-fought 29-run win against United States in the first match of their title defence in Mumbai a week ago, before crushing Namibia by 93 runs in Delhi on Thursday.

But Suryakumar played down the hype around Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq and his unique sling-arm bowling action, which has an exaggerated pause in the delivery stride.

“We have practised with similar types of bowlers and similar actions, so we will try to execute what we are practising in the night sessions,” said Suryakumar.

Suryakumar said dashing opener Abhishek Sharma has recovered well from a stomach bug and was likely to play.

Both Pakistan and India have won their opening two Group A matches and the winners will qualify for the Super Eight stage.