Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha walks off the field after his dismissal during the third T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Australia in Lahore. (AP) New Delhi: Ahead of the T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has criticized India for its decision not to shake hands with them during last year’s Asia Cup. Now entering the ICC tournament, the Pakistan government has announced that their national team will boycott the group stage match against the Suryakumar Yadav-led team on February 15 in Colombo.Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the boycott was a way to show solidarity with Bangladesh after it was kicked out of the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to play in India due to security concerns and wanted their games moved to Sri Lanka, but the ICC dismissed these concerns.
T20 World Cup: ‘It’s not good for the game’ – Salman Ali Agha on India Asia Cup handshake
“We don’t really feel hurt or anything like that. But yeah, it’s not good for the game. I can say that with an open chest. For the game, of course, these things shouldn’t happen. And me, growing up as a kid, I’ve always seen people doing what it takes to make the game better. And I think we’re role models to a certain extent. We’re not doing it against their World Cup at the T20 Salman.“Because if you do that, the kids will take it and tomorrow they’ll be doing the same things. So I don’t think these things should happen. Because if you think they’re role models, I don’t think role models do this,” he added.During last year’s Asia Cup in the UAE, India defeated Pakistan in all three matches between the arch-rivals, including the final, but the contests were marred by controversy. In the group stage match in Dubai, the Indian cricket team walked off the field without the usual handshake with their opponents.After the final, India refused to receive the trophy from PCB and current Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi. This stalemate resulted in India not yet being reconciled to silver.
There is no pressure because whenever you come to an ICC tournament you have to win almost all your games.
Salman Ali Agha
“I’m not just a Pakistan captain, I’m a cricket fan. If a kid is watching in India or Pakistan, we’re not sending him a good message. People look up to us as role models, but if we behave like that, we’re not inspiring them. What happened, it shouldn’t have happened, but you should ask the people (India) who are responsible for it, rather than me,” Agha said.With Pakistan not tentatively playing India in Group A of the T20 World Cup, they may need to win all three matches against Netherlands, USA and Namibia to advance. Salman denied that the decision would put more pressure on them, even though it means zero points and a significant blow to the clean sheet.“We have to be careful and bring our A-game,” Agha said, while admitting that Pakistan have limited experience with the Netherlands and “don’t know a lot” of their players.“We intend to release all of our spin options as we feel they are vulnerable to quality spins.”“No, there is no pressure because whenever you come to an ICC tournament, you have to win almost all your games. And when we came here, we thought we will win all the matches and give our best in all the games. Likewise, we will try to give our best in the games we play,” the Pakistan captain said.Pakistan entered the FIFA T20 World Cup on a high by beating Australia 3-0 at home. After Saturday’s game against the Netherlands, they will face the USA (February 10), before India (February 15) and Namibia (February 18).
