NEW DELHI: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Thursday reiterated his board's position on the India fixture, underlining that the call to boycott the T20 World Cup match was taken at the government level and lay beyond the team's control.
Pakistan had announced on Sunday that it would skip the marquee group-stage clash against India scheduled for February 15 in Colombo, even as the government gave the green light for the national side to compete in the remainder of the tournament, which gets underway on February 7.
"The India game is not in our control. It's the government's and the PCB's decision and we respect that. Whatever they are going to say, we will do that," Agha said during the captain's conference.
'Our brothers': Salman Ali Agha's remark on Bangladesh adds new layer to T20 World Cup drama
The T20 World Cup gets underway on Saturday across venues in India and Sri Lanka. Agha said that should India and Pakistan cross paths again in the knockout stages, the team would once more adhere to the directive issued by the Pakistan government.
"If we have to play them again in the semifinal or final, we will have to go back to them and act on their advice," Agha said.
Pakistan's decision, which was conveyed through an official government statement, is a political protest against Bangladesh's removal from the tournament. The ICC declined Bangladesh's request to shift matches from India to Sri Lanka on security grounds.
During the press conference here, Agha was also reminded about Pakistan's embarrassing defeat to lesser-fancied USA in the last edition of the tournament in the Americas.
"Yes, we lost to the USA in the last World Cup, but that's history now. It's a new World Cup, a new team and a new combination, and we are very excited about it."
"It's my first World Cup as a captain, and I'm very excited about that. I don't know how to describe myself as a captain.
"As a captain, I just want to lead from the front and do as much as I can for the team, get the best out of the team, and prepare an environment where they can play at their best," Agha said.
