Pakistan captain Salman Agha reacted to his team’s decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India. On Sunday, the Government of Pakistan confirmed that the team would participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup but directed them to skip the group-stage clash with arch-rivals India.
The decision followed the ICC’s removal of Bangladesh from the tournament after Dhaka refused to play in India over security concerns. Bangladesh remained firm on its stance of not playing on Indian soil, leading the ICC to replace them with Scotland.
Agha emphasised that the decision was beyond the Pakistan players’ control. He stated that the squad would follow the directives of the government and the cricket board, leaving no room for personal discretion. He added that while Pakistan would compete in the remainder of the tournament, they would comply with instructions regarding the India fixture.
“Yes, absolutely, we will go. But that is not our decision, sir, and we cannot do anything about it. Whatever our government and our chairman instruct us to do, we have to follow. Only then will we go, and we will do that,” Agha said in the press conference after Pakistan’s third T20I against Australia.
Pakistan were scheduled to face India on February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. On Sunday, they defeated Australia by 111 runs to complete a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series.
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