USA bowler Saurabh Netrawalkar said that the team’s focus is on cricket, not politics. At the same time, in protest against the ICC decision, Pakistan has threatened to boycott the India-Pakistan match on 15th February, due to which there is uncertainty over the match.
Mumbai: Ahead of facing India in the T20 World Cup, USA fast bowler Saurabh Netwalkar has given his opinion on the India-Pakistan political disputes. Saurabh, who played the Under-19 World Cup for India in 2010, said that there is no discussion on such topics in the dressing room and the team’s entire focus is only on cricket.
Saurabh said, “Our team has players from different parts of the world. Love for cricket is what binds us together. India-Pakistan issues do not become a topic of discussion between us. We are all proud to play for the USA.
Saurabh also talked about the match against India… “India is one of the best teams in the world. It is a big challenge to compete with them on home ground. We know we are considered weak, but we are confident in our abilities. Luck also plays a big role in T20 format. If some things remain in our favor, we can give a tough competition to India.” Saurabh clarified.
Uncertainty on India-Pak match
Despite the growing World Cup excitement, there remains uncertainty over the India-Pakistan match to be held in Colombo on February 15. Pakistan has threatened to boycott the ICC in protest against its decision to remove Bangladesh from the tournament and include Scotland. The Pakistani government has announced that they will participate in the tournament but will boycott the match against India.
The ICC has warned that abstaining from just one match is against the principles of global tournaments and the Pakistan board will have to face consequences. If this match with the biggest commercial value in the world of cricket does not happen, then broadcasters and sponsors will suffer a loss of crores of rupees.