NEW DELHI: Pakistan pacer Salman Mirza on Monday said the team is preparing for the entire T20 World Cup and will face arch-rivals India on February 15 if his government allows it.
While speaking at a press conference ahead of Pakistan's match against the USA on Tuesday, Mirza was asked whether the players had discussed the upcoming clash with India.
"We are preparing for the entire T20 World Cup. We will play accordingly to the team we have to play. It will be the decision of the government. We will do whatever is told to us," the 32-year-old said.
However, the immediate focus remains on the USA, who had defeated them in the previous edition.
"We are focused on the coming match and we are focusing on the match one-to-one, whichever is coming up. And about the match on the 15th (vs India), that is the decision of the government, whatever they decide we will play accordingly."
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi is expected to request Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to lift the boycott of their T20 World Cup match against India, following a request from his Bangladesh counterpart, according to a PCB source.
Learning from Past Upsets
In the T20 World Cup two years ago, USA, then co-hosts, had pulled off a famous Super Over win against Pakistan in Dallas.
Reflecting on that defeat, Mirza said, "This happens often in cricket. It is a past and we can only learn from it. Our focus is on the next match. The group is preparing well and we will be focused on that.
"All matches are important. I don't think any team is weak or strong in T20 cricket. The team that plays good cricket on the given day will be good. Pakistan always tries to play good cricket and we will try to do the same in all the matches."
He added that USA's bowling was impressive in their previous game against India, though they lost by 29 runs.
"They (USA) have bowled brilliant in the last game but I think we have strong batting line-up to tackle that bowling line-up and hopefully we'll play that good cricket and do the best."
Close Matches and Team Confidence
Pakistan had a scare against the Netherlands before securing a three-wicket win in their T20 World Cup opener on Friday. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf emerged as the hero, hitting 29 off 11 balls in a thrilling late assault to snatch victory.
"It's the T20 World Cup and all the matches are important, whether is the first, second or final. If you are following the T20 World Cup, you must have seen that almost all the games so far have been close. This is the beauty of cricket. Close games are a must.
"(However, close the game is) the main objective is to win the game. And Pakistan has won and we will try to win the next matches as well," Mirza said.
When asked about fans’ disappointment at their narrow escape, he said, "When you play a match, a lot of things are like an eye opener. We will try not to make the same mistakes as we did in the first match. We will learn from it and play good cricket.
"Even though we have won 3-0 (against Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup), it gives you confidence. But it is a World Cup game and it keeps changing. Sometimes your game plans change because of the pitch, sometimes the opponent team plays well."
Asked if the Pakistan team is mentally ready for the USA match, he replied, "Pakistan is ready for every challenge. We can learn from the past. We can't stick to the past. We can learn from the past but we have to improve our next games.
"T20 is such a format in which the difference between small and big teams is not much. Because if a team does a good spell or innings, it makes a big difference in the match. You have seen this in front of you, the way the matches are being played. And this statement justifies it that there is no small or big team. The one who plays good cricket will win."
(With PTI Inputs)
