'Focus is only cricket' - India, Pakistan on mood ahead of World Cup clash

A day out from what will likely be one of the most-followed matches of this Women's World Cup, both teams are insisting they are focused on the cricket. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana appeared to suggest that as far as Pakistan are concerned, India are a team like any other. She also spoke briefly about the good relations these teams have enjoyed in the past.

India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said, meanwhile, that in a big tournament "the area of focus is only cricket". There have been no indications on whether the India players would decline to shake the hands of the Pakistan players on Sunday, as the men's team had done during the recent Asia Cup, although BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia did not rule out the possibility in an interview this week. Both teams also requested that questions at the pre-match press conference be constrained to the cricket.

Sana did, however, speak briefly on the camaraderie between the players in past tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand, for instance, several India players were seen interacting with then-Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof's six-month old daughter, as players comforted the toddler on their shoulder, in what was one of the most heartwarming moments of that tournament.

Political tensions between the nations have worsened substantially since then. India's male players were previously seen interacting with Pakistan players at earlier Asia Cups but refrained from doing so during the most recent edition, which ended last week.

"We have great relationships with all other teams, and we try and keep good relations with everyone," Sana said a day ahead of the match against India. "We'll try to do everything within the spirit of the game.

"Those pictures in the past with everyone mingling with each other around Bismah's daughter - those scenes look good and everyone enjoys seeing that. But, of course, our focus has to be on what we're here for - to play."

Both teams were keen to stress that they were doing their best to ignore the politics of this moment. "We're like a family of 20-22 people here," Sana said of the Pakistan team environment. "We don't really worry about what's going on outside our bubble. We get to hear about things happening external to cricket, but we focus on our game. The World Cup is something every player waits for, so we just want to focus on the thing we've come here for."

Salvi's comments on the eve of the match echoed that sentiment. "The area of focus is cricket," he said. "We want our girls to bring that 'A' game to the day. We want them to take it just as a game, because the World Cup is a long campaign. It's a long campaign - there will be a lot of games coming up."