Stay focused: Kapil Dev urges Indian players ahead of Pakistan clash

World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has urged Indian players to remain focused on performance and not get distracted by external factors ahead of their high-voltage Asia Cup clash against Pakistan on Sunday.

India and Pakistan are set to face off in Dubai for the first time since Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India after 26 tourists were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam earlier this year.

"The Indian players should stay focused solely on the game. They have a good team and must win," Kapil told reporters here.

"Players should concentrate only on their performance and not get distracted by anything else. Just go and win. The government will do its job, and the players should do theirs," the 66-year-old added.

In the wake of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian government has formulated a policy under which the country would not have any bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan but won't stop the Indian teams from competing against their neighbours in multilateral events.

India, the reigning world champions in the T20 format, began their campaign with an emphatic nine-wicket win over UAE on Wednesday.

"It's a good team, good luck, they won well yesterday. I hope they win the trophy too," Kapil said.

India's next match is against Pakistan.