NEW DELHI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav made it clear that his team is prepared to play wherever the ICC schedules the match, distancing himself from Pakistan's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup clash scheduled to be held in Colombo on February 15.
Addressing the captain's press conference on Thursday in Mumbai, Suryakumar said India's stance has remained unchanged, stressing that the team has not refused to play and will travel to Colombo as per the tournament plan. He confirmed that India will play their scheduled match on the 7th before heading to Sri Lanka, adding that the rest is out of the players' control.
"We haven't said no to the game. The ICC has decided on a neutral venue. We are going to Colombo for sure. We don't know about others. We will play the match on 7th and go to Colombo then," Surya said.
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Reacting to Pakistan's position, the Indian skipper underlined that such decisions are beyond a captain's remit. "That decision is not in my control," Suryakumar said, pointing out that India and Pakistan have faced each other multiple times in recent tournaments, including the Asia Cup, where India emerged victorious.
India are scheduled to face the arch-rivals in February 15 but Pakistan's cricket team has been told by its government to skip the game after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play in India on account of "security concerns".
Suryakumar also acknowledged the role of government decisions in shaping the situation, noting that players can only follow the fixtures laid out by the organisers. He reiterated that if the opportunity arises to play Pakistan in Colombo, India will be ready to take the field.
