‘Humara decision nahi hai’: Pakistan captain Salman Agha breaks silence on India match boycott

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Sunday responded to the announcement by the country's government that the country's government that the cricket team will not be taking the field against India. The Pakistan government in a social media post confirmed that the team will be participating in the T20 World Cup but will not participate in the 15th February match against India.

Agha while responding to the announcement while speaking to reporters said, "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,"

What did Pakistan government say?

Pakistan had confirmed their side for the T20 Word Cup but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi had said that the final call on the participation will be taken by 30 January or 2 February.

Naqvi who also serves as the country's interior minister met with PM Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday and an official statement by the country was released that evening.

In a post on X, the Pakistan government wrote, “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 against India,”

Meanwhile, ICC also soon responded to the statement while noting that it expects the PCB to ‘explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders’

“While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule.” ICC said in a statement

The Pakistan boycott fiasco comes shortly after Bangladesh were thrown out of the T20 World Cup due to the country refusing to travel to India owing to security concerns.

The marquee event is all set to begin from 7 Februrary with the first match between Pakistan and Netherlands. Given the growing hostilities between India and Pakistan, the Men in Green were slated to play their matches of the world cup in Sri Lanka.