Handshake row: Will India and Pakistan players shake hands in T20 World Cup? Harmanpreet Kaur answers

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her team’s focus is only on cricket ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on Sunday, adding that discussions within the team revolve entirely around the game.India and Pakistan will meet in a Group 1 match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The match comes against the backdrop of recent instances of Indian teams not exchanging hands with Pakistani players. In last year’s ODI World Cup, Harmanpreet and Pakistan captain Fatima Sana did not shake hands at the toss.Both men’s and women’s team players have not shaken hands with Pakistan players since last year’s Men’s Asia Cup. The approach taken by Suryakumar Yadav’s side in the Asia Cup was also followed in the Women’s World Cup, U19 World Cup, Rising Stars Asia Cup and Men’s World T20 Cup.Talking to reporters on the eve of the match, Harmanpreet said that the team is only focused on the cricketing challenge.“I think we are here for cricket and we only talk about cricket, except we don’t talk about anything and I don’t even talk about anything except cricket. Cricket is our dream since day one and we only discuss about cricket and tomorrow’s match, we only think about it. It’s the next game we will play,” Kaur said.The Indian skipper acknowledged that matches against Pakistan bring added pressure, but said handling and enjoying that pressure is part of international cricket.“Definitely, the pressure will be there. Whenever we play against Pakistan, the pressure will be there. But at the same time, it’s just about how we enjoy the pressure. Because in every international match, the pressure will be there. It’s just about giving 100% for that match and enjoying every moment,” she added.India entered the tournament after ending their wait for an ICC title by winning the ODI World Cup last year. They will now look to add the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy to their cabinet.The Women in Blue have reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup five times and played in one final but are yet to win the tournament.