“Wait for 24 hours,” said Suryakumar Yadav with a grin. “Wait till tomorrow,” echoed his counterpart Salman Ali Agha. The question on top of everyone’s mind remained unanswered on Saturday as both India and Pakistan captains remained noncommittal on whether their teams will shake hands before or after their high-octane T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday.

India and Pakistan players have stopped shaking hands with each other since last year’s Asia Cup in Dubai, which was held in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre and the subsequent Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian armed forces.

When asked about handshake, Surya said, in his inimitable style with a toothy grin, “Now wait for 24 hours for that. Why put so much focus 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.”

“We will see about it tomorrow,” Agha too gave a cryptic response. However, he was clear in his view that the “Spirit of the Game” should be upheld under any circumstances. “Cricket should be played in right spirit. My personal opinion may not matter. But cricket should be played according to how it has always been meant to be played. It’s up to them to decide what to do,” Agha added.

BCB chief to watch match, meet BCCI officials

Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Aminul Islam Bulbul had said that he would be in Colombo to watch the India-Pakistan match, where he is expected to break ice with the BCCI after tense exchanges over the past few weeks. From India, BCCI president Mithun Manhas, secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla are expected to be in attendance. Speaking to Bangladesh newspaper “Pratham Alo”, Islam said the invitation for the high-profile game has come from the ICC.

Also read: We’ll try to execute what we practice: SKY