Cricket–No handshake as Pakistan elect to field against India

COLOMBO, Feb 15 : Pakistan's Salman Agha chose to field after winning the toss against India but there was no handshake between the captains before the Twenty20 World Cup Group A blockbuster on Sunday.

The match between the bitter rivals went ahead after Pakistan earlier reversed their decision to boycott the game in solidarity with Bangladesh, who refused to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced by Scotland.

Salman and his India counterpart Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands at the toss though.

India were reinforced by the return of opener Abhishek Sharma, currently the top-ranked T20 batter, who missed the first two matches with a stomach infection.

India also replaced seamer Arshdeep Singh with left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.

"It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs, so we want to use that," Pakistan captain Salman said.

"It's a big game, we all know that. But in our group, we all are very relaxed and we're just focusing on the game."

India skipper Suryakumar was not too unhappy with the toss outcome and said they wanted to bat first anyway.

"We batted in the last two games and won both the games defending. So we don't want to change anything," he said.

Suryakumar conceded it was not just another match for his side given strained relations between the countries, which engaged in a military conflict last year.

"I think it's easy to say that it's not just another game, but it is an occasion," Suryakumar said.

"These games always have high stakes but, at the same time, you've got to know what you want to do, that's more important. Stay in the present, back your skills, put your A game forward and be yourself."

India lead Group A due to their superior net run rate though