The confirmation that the India-Pakistan encounter at the T20 World Cup will indeed go ahead came late on Monday when the Pakistan government withdrew the boycott threat, but the preparations for SuryaKumar Yadav & Co were always going on assuming that the game would take place. India would face Namibia in their second group match in New Delhi on Thursday, but the uncertainty over the marquee clash with the neighbours had been the biggest talking point coming into the tournament and during its first three days. However, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate insisted that the team had been mentally preparing for the fixture as if the game was always going to be played. “First of all, it’s great that the game is back on, we never changed (our) preparation (or thought) that the game wasn’t going to happen. We always had an impression that something would transpire and we would play, so it’s not a big change in the way we go about things,” Ten Doeschate told reporters at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. Also Read | T20 World Cup: Pakistan agreeing to play India saves ICC $174 million “We got confirmation late yesterday. We’d like to have another chance to play against a quality side and it’s good for the team.” The cloud over the money-spinning fixture had persisted ever since Pakistan announced a boycott of the match in solidarity with Bangladesh, who decided they will not travel to India after their pacer Mustafizur Rahman was evicted from the IPL on the BCCI’s instructions. The impasse led to Bangladesh forfeiting their place in the ongoing tournament, with Scotland taking their place. However, following successful negotiations between cricket officials from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as the International Cricket Council, it was decided that the fixture will be played. Ten Doeschate insisted that the Indian camp is trying to steer away from politics and focus on cricket. In that context, the game going ahead is good news. Story continues below this ad “We try to stay clear of all the politics. I’ve mentioned before about the sentiments of the country and know the politics between the two countries. But it’s really important for us just to focus on the cricket side of things. It’s going to be a challenge going to Colombo, where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks, and we are fully focused on just bringing our best game to that fixture next week,” he said.
Glad that India vs Pakistan fixture is back on, team is trying to stay away from politics: Ryan Ten Doeschate
