Fatima Sana Insists Pakistan’s Focus is Only on Cricket Ahead of India Clash

Pakistan Women's captain Fatima Sana has said that the focus of her side is only on cricket ahead of the India clash. She stated firmly that the Pakistan team is unnerved by the controversies that are happening outside the field. The players and coaching staff are all gelled with each other, focusing only on winning matches in the ICC Women's World Cup.

A similar type of statement was also heard from the Indian side, as the bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said that the team is focusing purely on cricket. However, he didn’t mention anything about the possibility of a handshake between the two teams. It recently became a huge controversy during the Asia Cup 2025 when the Indian men’s team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan men’s team on the behest of the BCCI.

In Men’s Asia Cup 2025, both captains, Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha, also didn’t shake hands at the toss, highlighting the frosty nature between the two teams. The controversy evolved further when India refused to take the trophy from the ACC President Mohsin Naqvi at the end of the tournament final. The matter is still unresolved, as Mohsin Naqvi has categorically stated that the Indian team is welcome to take the trophy only if they come to the ACC office.

Speaking at the press conference, Pakistan Women's captain, Fatima Sana, stressed to take questions that are related to the tournament and cricket only. However, she highlighted the camaraderie between the two teams that has always existed with mutual respect. She spoke about the pictures that became viral during the 2022 World Cup in which Indian players were seen sharing warm moments with Bismah Maroof's six-month old daughter.

"We have great relationships with all other teams, and we try to keep good relations with everyone," said Fatima Sana at the pre-match press conference.

"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." said Pakistan women’s captain, Fatima Sana.

She also highlighted that the environment of her team is like a family in which everyone is highly supportive and caring. The captain said that the team often hears news about the external controversies, but they do not pay heed to them to keep a clear focus on the game.

"We're like a family of 20-22 people here. 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.” said Fatima Sana.

Pakistan will now take on India tomorrow in a high-profile World Cup clash at Colombo. The green shirts lost the last game against Bangladesh badly, so they will try to make a strong comeback in this match to get a good start in the tournament.

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