Islamabad, Feb 3: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Monday said the players will follow whatever instructions are given to them by the government or the cricket Board with regards to boycotting the marquee T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 in Colombo.Salman told the media before leaving with the team from Lahore to Colombo that the players had been informed about the decision by the team manager on Sunday immediately after the match against Australia.
“We are players contracted to the Board and whatever decision our government and Board have taken all the players are on board with it,” he said.
Salman said that the T20 World Cup was not just about playing against India and the team was going to Sri Lanka with the aim to perform well and try to win all its matches against every side in the tournament.
“We have three other group matches so we will try to win all of them and qualify for next round,” he said.
Former captains such as Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Yousuf and Rashid Latif, and ex-players like Moin Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohsin Khan have come out in support of the decision to boycott the match against India.“What the ICC did to Bangladesh or the way they have bowed before the Indian cricket board in recent years, it was time someone took a stand,” Latif said. Afridi said while he was disappointed at Pakistan not playing India as he didn’t believe in mixing politics with sports, but he understood the reasons for the decision.
“The ICC now has to decide which path it wants to take in the larger interests of world cricket,” Moin said.
Sarfaraz said he could understand the reasons for the Pakistan Cricket Board not getting permission to play against India.
Amid the drama, the Pakistan team left for Colombo to play its other games in the showpiece starting February 7. The team is expected to reach the Sri Lankan capital later this evening.
A top source in the PCB said the Board will follow government instructions in case another game against the arch-rivals gets lined up during the knockout stage of the tournament.
Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18 in case the boycott decision for the game against India is not taken back.
Pakistan’s stunning decision to not play the February 15 match is being seen as an act of support for Bangladesh, who were shown the door after refusing to play in India citing security concerns.