Colombo, February 14 "Wait for 24 hours," said Suryakumar Yadav with a grin.
"Wait until tomorrow," echoed his counterpart Salman Ali Agha. The question on everyone's mind remained unanswered on Saturday as both India and Pakistan captains remained noncommittal on whether their teams would shake hands before or after their high-stakes T20 World Cup match here on Sunday.
Since last year's Asia Cup in Dubai, which was held in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre and the subsequent Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian Armed Forces, players from India and Pakistan have stopped shaking hands with each other.
When asked about a handshake, Surya, in his inimitable style with a toothy grin: "Wait for 24 hours for that. Why put so much focus on that? We have come to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will make all those decisions later tomorrow. Wait for it. Eat well and go to sleep."
"We will see about it tomorrow," Agha gave a cryptic response about the possibility of a handshake in the pre-match press conference here on Saturday.
However, Agha was clear in his view that the 'Spirit of the Game' should be upheld under any circumstances.
"Cricket should be played in the right spirit. My personal opinion may not matter. But cricket should be played according to how it has always been meant to be played. It's up to them to decide what to do," Agha added.
However, it has been learned that the general mood in the Indian camp ahead of Sunday's game at the Premadasa has been more thoughtful than bullish, leaving the decision-making to the higher officials and go by their call.
However, when it comes to the Indian team, there is a general wariness about public sentiment on social media, which could be extreme as the emotions in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack are still raw.
Bulbul to watch Indo-Pak match, meet BCCI officials
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Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Aminul Islam Bulbul had said that he would be in Colombo to watch the India-Pakistan match where he is expected to break the ice with the BCCI after tense exchanges over the past few weeks.
From India, BCCI president Mithun Manhas, secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla are expected to be in attendance.
Speaking to Bangladesh newspaper 'Pratham Alo', Islam said the invitation for the high-profile game has come from the ICC.
"The ICC has taken a decision. The major stakeholders of the ICC are these five Asian countries and for the India-Pakistan World Cup match on the 15th, they want representatives of all five Asian countries to be present at the ground together, watch the match together and talk to one another," Islam had remarked.
