Floored by the warm reception here after arriving for the ICC World Twenty20, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Sunday said his team is "loved more in India" than in Pakistan and has never felt any security threat in the country. The Pakistani team touched down here last night after getting government clearance to travel, a decision that was delayed by several days over security concerns. In fact, Pakistan's marquee World T20 clash against India on March 19 had be moved from Dharamsala to Kolkata after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed his inability to provide adequate security cover in the wake of protests by the state's ex-servicemen.

"Whatever decision the state takes, we are behind them. We are cricketers and not politicians. Sport always brings two nations together. Can there be anything better than cricket? I think we should keep politics away from it," Afridi said.

On whether Pakistani players would be distracted by the drama that preceded their arrival, Afridi said: "I think it's nothing special. We were practising over there. We think about that. Physically and mentally we were ready that we will go definitely." "International cricket is all about pressure. The team which handles pressure well wins in the end."