Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has given his first reaction after his government decided to boycott the T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. The Pakistan government, in a statement on Sunday, cleared the team to play the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka; however, it told its team not to play the clash against India, scheduled to take place on February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026; however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India," the government posted in a post on X.
Salman gives initial reaction after India boycott decision
Meanwhile, Salman has given his first reaction following this decision. He spoke on the heated topic after the conclusion of the T20I series against Australia that the Men in Green won 3-0. "We are going to the World Cup. Humara decision nahi hai, hum kuch nahi kar sakte. (The decision not to play against India isn't ours, so we cannot do anything about it.) Whatever our government, the PCB chief tells us to do, we will do that only, Salman told reporters in the post-match press conference.
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Pakistan's decision came after a week-long uncertainty about the team's participation in the tournament after the International Cricket Council had replaced Bangladesh with Scotland. Following ICC's decision to remove Bangladesh from the tournament, the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, had threatened a possible boycott of the World Cup. Naqvi had stated that the decision on Pakistan's participation would be taken after his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Meanwhile, the PCB chairman Naqvi had met Sharif and had deferred the decision on participation in the tournament till Friday or Monday. "Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister ... Shehbaz Sharif," Naqvi had tweeted after meeting his PM. "Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision [on participation] will be taken either on Friday or next Monday.
