Shaheen Afridi Downplays SKY's Indo-Pak Remarks

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Dubai- Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi steered clear of giving a direct response to Suryakumar Yadav's view that Indo-Pak games should not be considered a rivalry anymore due to India's dominance and insisted that his team's focus is on winning the Asia Cup.

Addressing the pre-match press conference ahead of their must-win last Super 4 game against Bangladesh here on Thursday, Afridi side-stepped queries on Suryakumar's assertion.

“That's his view, let him say. When we meet (in the likely Asia Cup final on Sunday), we will see kya hai, kya nahi. Tab dekh lenge. We are here to win the Asia Cup and we will give our best effort for that,” Afridi said.

Suryakumar had stated that for a rivalry to be considered genuine, the gulf in results cannot be 12-3, which is where the India-Pakistan T20I head-to-head currently stands.

The two teams have played each other twice in the ongoing tournament and India have emerged comprehensive victors both times.

But the tensions between the two sides are running high after the Indian team refused to perform traditional handshakes before and after the games to show solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in which Pakistan-backed terrorists were involved.

The matches have been marred by Pakistani players' aggressive gestures towards fans as well as rival players and Afridi was asked if the aggression had been planned by the likes of Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan.

While Rauf seemingly mocked Indian fans, Farhan's provocative gun-firing celebration also caused a stir during their Super 4 game on Sunday.

“There is no specific plan to be aggressive, we have always been aggressive, from the time we started playing. This is how cricket is played and the team morale is kept high,” he said.

Asked if the team is even discussing the possible Indo-Pak match-up in the final, he said,“We are not in the final yet, when we reach, we will think about it.”

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