A week after the controversy-marred showdown at Dubai International Stadium, India and Pakistan are set for a high-pressure Super Four Asia Cup clash at the same venue. Ahead of the big game, Salman Ali Agha’s side was cheered by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who visited the nets on Saturday, while the team rolled out a stress-busting plan for the showdown.
Naqvi, who is also the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), visited the nets at the ICC Academy to interact with the squad and boost morale ahead of the match against India.
The Pakistan board also hired motivational speaker Dr Raheel Ahmed to counter the players’ stress levels. According to a report in the PTI, Ahmed joined the squad after the end of Pakistan’s Group A fixtures and has since been working closely with the support staff. He has already interacted with several young players, who have been struggling to cope with the intense psychological pressure of facing India, and has held one-on-one sessions with a few to identify the root causes of mental lapses in crunch situations.
Earlier, Pakistan also cancelled their pre-match press conference for the second time in a row in the Asia Cup, fueling speculation about the tense atmosphere within the camp.
Last Sunday, India beat Pakistan by seven wickets as the defending champions chased down 128 runs in 15.5 overs. However, the game was marred by the no-handshake storm. Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts after the end of the game, with captain Suryakumar Yadav explaining that it was an act to show solidarity to the families of the 26 victims of the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack, which took place in April earlier this year.
The sight left PCB fuming. They held match referee Andy Pycroft responsible for the fiasco after the Zimbabwean suggested the two captains not shake hands at the toss. PCB demanded his removal and threatened the ICC with a pull-out, but their plea was rejected twice.
Pakistan came close to withdrawing from the tournament earlier this week, when the players were asked not to leave the hotel for the match against the UAE. After an hour-long delay, with PCB holding an elaborate meeting back home, the team was eventually handed a green signal for the match. Even as Pakistan secured a comfortable win to guarantee their position in the Super Four, PCB landed in trouble after a clip of Pycroft’s meeting with the Pakistan camp in the match referee’s room ahead of the start of the UAE game went viral on social media. ICC sent a strongly-worded email to the PCB accusing them of “multiple violations” of the PMOA protocol.
PCB had claimed that Pycroft apologised to Pakistan in that meeting, but the video was muted. ICC clarified that the 69-year-old merely suggested the meet-up to clear the air on what happened the previous Sunday in the match against India.