Will Surya not shake hands with the Pakistani captain again? What was his response at the press conference?

Following the match on September 14th, the Indian and Pakistani teams will face each other again on September 21st. The last time the two teams clashed in the Asia Cup, a major controversy erupted over handshakes. 

Now, all eyes are on this Super Four match. Before the match, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not directly address the handshake controversy when he attended the press conference. 

However, he did say that Team India is fully prepared for this match. Meanwhile, the Pakistani team did not hold a press conference.

Suryakumar Yadav's advice to the team

In the last match, the Indian captain neither shook hands with opposition captain Salman Ali Agha at the toss nor with the Pakistani team after finishing the match with a six that day. 

He dedicated this victory to the Indian Army and the families of the victims of the Pahalgam attack. Tensions have risen since then. Suryakumar Yadav understands that there is a lot of outside noise surrounding the India-Pakistan match. He has given his team some advice. Suryakumar said,

I told my team to close their rooms, turn off their phones, and go to sleep. I think that's the best thing. It's easy to say, but sometimes it's hard. Because you see a lot of friends. You go out to dinner, and you have a lot of players who like to watch all this stuff, so it's very difficult.

The Indian captain, however, understands that external noise cannot be completely silenced. Therefore, he advised his team to choose wisely what to keep in mind. He said,

It depends on you what you want to hear, what you want to keep in your mind. 

What did Surya say on the handshake controversy?

It's worth noting that following the controversy, the ICC prohibited journalists from asking political questions at press conferences. Despite this, a journalist subtly asked Suryakumar Yadav if he would not shake hands with the Pakistani captain again. 

You were amazing with the bat in the last match, but also in other areas. Will we see the same in the next match?

Suryakumar Yadav started laughing upon hearing the question. He said, 

By "other things," you meant bowling. It's a great contest between bat and ball. The stadium is packed. The best thing is to give your best and do your best for your country.

Suryakumar also spoke about his preparations for the tournament. He said,

I think our preparation before the tournament has been really good and we've played three good matches. So we're really focused on doing our best. We have to play well from the start. Whichever team performs well will win the match.

India to face Pakistan in Super 4

It should be noted that after the group stage, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super Four. These teams will now face each other. The top two teams will qualify for the final, which will be played in Dubai on September 28th.