Mickey Arthur doesn’t know if India-Pak cricket relations can ease the border tension between the two neighbouring countries, but Pakistan’s director of cricket surely knows what the goal is for his team — to complete the unfinished business from the 2019 World Cup.

With five wins from nine matches, Pakistan had failed to make the semis in the last edition of the World Cup. But Arthur, speaking ahead of their opening match of the current campaign, said he has faith in his boys to go all the way.

“First of all, the boys love being in India — they’ve embraced being here, which is fantastic. The pressure of a World Cup is always massive. But I think our boys are in a really good place and part of the attraction for me is it’s a very similar squad to what we had in 2019... it’s almost an unfinished business.

“I felt in 2019 we were very, very close. These young boys have now become men. They’ve become very experienced. They’ve had another four years’ experience.

“And during those four years, we have the best win-loss ratio in ODIs. So, these guys are ready for everything that’s thrown at them in this competition,” Arthur confidently claimed.

Asked about the much-hyped India-Pakistan encounter on October 14, the South African said: “I think first and foremost, it’s going to be an unbelievable spectacle. Those games are always exceptional. India are playing some fantastic cricket, but so are we.

“I just think it’s going to be a great game. I can’t wait for it, personally. Hopefully, we’ve got two wins under the belt before we get to Ahmedabad, so we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves.

“But it’s one date in my diary that I can’t wait for. I just think it’s going to be a fantastic game.”

He, however, shouldered arms when poked about the political angle in the game. “Look, I can’t talk about how the governments interact. What I can talk about is the respect that the players have for each other from both teams, because I’ve seen the respect that we’ve had.

“We’ve had a wonderful reception so far in India. I’m pretty sure we’ll get that around our games as well.

“I think there’s a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket. They don’t get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan often.

“So, I think that’s going to be part of the attraction. Whatever happens outside, that’s above my pay grade, I’m not qualified to talk about that,” Arthur said.