India and Pakistan square off again in an ICC event, this time in T20 cricket as the two women’s teams clash in their T20 World Cup 2026 opener. As the two captains – Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana – attended the press conference on the eve of the clash, questions on the relationship between the two nations were bound to come. When Harmanpreet was asked about a potential handshake snub with Fatima, continuing the precedent that was set in the men’s T20 Asia Cup last year, she gave a blunt reply.
Harmanpreet was in no mood to be drawn into the political side of things, and reminded the reporter that it is better if questions are asked about the cricketing affairs between the two teams and not politics.
“Well, I think we are here for cricket, and we only talk about cricket; except for cricket, we don’t talk about anything, and I don’t even think about anything except cricket. Cricket has been our dream from day one, and we only talk about it. For tomorrow’s game, we are thinking of it as just another game we are going to play,” Harmanpreet told reporters.
Though Harmanpreet labelled the Pakistan clash “just another game”, she admitted that there is always pressure whenever India play against Pakistan, irrespective of the occasion.
“Definitely pressure is going to be there, which I earlier agreed to; whenever we play against Pakistan, pressure will be there – but at the same time it’s only about how we are going to enjoy that pressure because in any international game, pressure is going to be there; it’s only about giving your 100% in that game and enjoying each and every moment,” she added.
India are the ODI World Cup champions in women’s cricket and are now looking to take the next leap by winning the T20 World Cup. For some, India are among the favourites, and Harmanpreet is in agreement about the ‘pressure of expectations’.
“I won’t say there’s no pressure; there is pressure. Since I started watching cricket, as a supporter I have felt that pressure, and now that we play it’s even more. But at the same time we always say that the more we enjoy this game the better it is for us, because we are the lucky ones who are picked for this big occasion and we just want to enjoy ourselves on the field,” said Harmanpreet.
“I think, more than anything, it is another game we are going to play tomorrow and we just want to play our best cricket,” she added.