Dubai: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday said his side will not hold back on aggression in the high-voltage Asia Cup clash against Pakistan on September 14 as it is an important aspect of playing international sport.
His Pakistani counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, had identical views — no instructions but no shying away from it either. Before the Pakistan game, India will open their campaign against the UAE on Wednesday.
“Temper? Sir, aggression is always there on the field when we take the field. And without aggression, I don’t think you can play this sport. And I’m sure, I’m very excited to take the field on the front foot,” Suryakumar replied when asked whether players will be told to dial down the intensity in the much-awaited Sunday clash of the T20 event.
The Asia Cup match is being held in the backdrop of border tensions between India and Pakistan after 26 tourists were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam earlier this year leading to military action by India under Operation Sindoor.
Salman held a similar view on aggression but added that he wouldn’t be issuing any specific instructions to his players.
“Well, you don’t need to say anything to any player. Because everyone is individually very different. If someone wants to be aggressive on the field, they are more than welcome to do that.
“When it comes to fast bowlers, they are always aggressive,” Salman said.
The captains’ press conference and the trophy unveiling ceremony was followed by a question and answer session. The emcee requested the media to ask only apolitical questions.
In fact, Suryakumar and Salman weren’t even seated together as Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan took the place between them.
The Indian skipper was also asked if he would like to see a change in his team’s approach and philosophy.
“Why are you needling me?” he cheekily retorted.
“When you play a format you need to know how good is your preparation. Why mend something that isn’t broken? If something has given us results why would we need to change that aspect separately?” he said.
There was the inevitable question about who among Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma will make the cut in the playing XI on Wednesday.
Like all other skippers, Suryakumar also kept cards close to his chest but did not let go of his trademark cheeky humour while responding to the query on Samson as the scribe who threw the question at him also hailed from the keeper-batter’s native state Kerala.
“I will message you the whole team sir,” he laughed and then in a slightly serious tone added: “We are taking good care of him. Don’t worry, we will take the right decision tomorrow.”
When quizzed on the pressure of being title favourites, he admitted that there is pressure of coming good.
“Who said that? (favourites) I haven’t heard it. But you have played in this format and you know how your preparations are. If your preparations are good, then you will be very confident when you take the field. We are playing T20 as a team after a long time.”
For Salman, the challenge is to prove that the team has moved beyond Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan — the two senior players who were dropped.
“We are playing very good cricket. I think for almost four months, we have won three series out of four. So, we are doing very well as a team and at the same time, we are very excited. A lot of the boys will play Asia Cup for the first time but they are ready for the challenge,” he added.
