New Delhi: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said at the captains’ meeting in Colombo on the eve of the T20 World Cup that not to play against India was entirely the decision of the Pakistan government.“The match in India is not within our control. It is the government’s decision and we respect that. Whatever they say, we will do it,” Aga told reporters in Colombo on Thursday. “Then we have three more games and we’re really excited about that.”
On Sunday, the Pakistan government announced that its men’s cricket team would not participate in the February 15 match against arch-rival India, but did not explain the reasons behind the decision.“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan approves pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026; however, the Pakistan cricket team will not participate in the match against India on February 15,” the Pakistan government posted on X.Agha also dodged a question when he was asked what Pakistan would do if they faced India in the semi-finals.“The match in India is not within our control. It is the government’s decision and, if we have to play against them in the semi-finals or final, we have to go back to them and act on their advice,” he said.On fans not being able to watch the India-Pakistan match, Salman said, “There are three other games they can come to watch,” he said with a smile.Pakistan Prime Minister Sherbaz Sharif also weighed in on the decision and called the government’s move “appropriate” to boycott the February 15 match against India.“We have taken a very clear stance at the T20 World Cup that we will not play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field,” Sharif told cabinet members on Wednesday.Sharif further stressed that Pakistan should stand by Bangladesh after the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, after Bangladesh asked for the T20 World Cup match to be moved from India to Sri Lanka citing security concerns.“We have taken a very considered position that we should fully support Bangladesh and I think it is a very appropriate decision.”Pakistan is in Group A along with India, Namibia, Netherlands and the United States. In 2024, Pakistan lost to India and then were eliminated from the Super League after losing to the United States.However, they will enter the tournament with a 111-run win over Australia on Sunday and a 3-0 sweep of the T20I series.“Yes, we lost to the United States in the last World Cup, but that is history. This is a new World Cup, a new team and a new combination, and we are very excited about it,” Aga said.This will be the first time Aga leads his national team to participate in the World Cup, and the captain sounds excited.“This is my first World Cup as captain and I’m very excited about it. I don’t know how to describe myself as a captain,” he said.“It’s like what people describe, but as a captain I just want to lead from the front and try to do as much as possible for my players to get the best out of them and give them an environment where they can perform at their best,” he added.Pakistan will face Netherlands on February 7.
