India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Agha (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has broken his silence after the decision was taken not to allow the team to take the field against India in the Men’s Under-20 World Cup match scheduled for February 15. While the Pakistan government has confirmed the team’s participation in the 20-team tournament to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, it has been confirmed that Pakistan will miss out on the highly anticipated match against India which was scheduled to be played in Colombo.
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Speaking to reporters after Pakistan’s emphatic win over Australia in the third and final T20I on Sunday, Agha made it clear that the players did not take the call. He said the team will follow any directive issued by the government and the Pakistan Cricket Board. “We are going to the World Cup. Humara nahi hai, hum kuch nahi kar sakte decision. (The decision not to play against India is not ours, so we can’t do anything about it.) Whatever our government, PCB chief tells us to do, we will only do it,” Agha said. PCB chairman and Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi had earlier hinted that a final decision on participation in the World Cup would be taken by January 30 or February 2. With no announcement made on January 30, expectations were growing that the all-clear would come on Monday. However, after a meeting between Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday night, the official verdict was announced at around 8:00 PM IST, sparking a widespread reaction across the cricketing world. Notably, the announcement came on the same day as Pakistan’s T20I series against Australia in Lahore. Soon after the confirmation, Pakistan unveiled their official jersey for the tournament. The team was placed in Group A alongside India, Namibia, the Netherlands and the USA. With the tournament less than a week away, the development has raised questions for the ICC and broadcasters, given the massive commercial value of the India-Pakistan clash. Pakistan will play all the matches in Sri Lanka and start their campaign on February 7 against the Netherlands. The 2009 champions, led by Agha, will look to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 campaign to build on the momentum from their 3-0 run over Australia.
