Pakistan’s cricket team will seek government advice if they face arch-rivals India in the T20 World Cup knockout stages, captain Salman Agha confirmed.
PAKISTAN captain Salman Agha said his team will seek advice from their government if they reach the knockout phase of the T20 World Cup and meet arch-rivals India.
He made the statement on Thursday amid a tournament build-up marred by political tension. Bangladesh were kicked out after refusing to play in India, citing security concerns, and were replaced by Scotland.
Pakistan’s government cleared the team to participate but ordered them not to play their marquee group match against India on February 15. “The India game is not in our control,” Agha told reporters.
“It was the government’s decision and if we have to play them in the semi-final or the final, we will go back to them and act on their advice.” Pakistan backed Bangladesh’s plea to have their games moved to Sri Lanka.
“It’s sad Bangladesh are not here. They have a very good side,” Agha added. Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for over a decade, meeting only in multinational events.
Forfeiting the India group match means Pakistan will lose two points and take a significant hit to their net run rate. This makes their path to the knockout stages more difficult.
“We know the margin for error is small, but we can’t control the weather,” Agha said regarding the risk of further points being lost to bad weather. The team will face Namibia, the Netherlands and the United States in Group A.
“We’re excited to play in this tournament. We lost to USA in the last World Cup and we are determined to put that disappointment behind us,” the captain stated. Pakistan, the 2009 champions, arrive in strong form.
They recently completed a 3-0 whitewash of Australia at home. “We’ve been playing really good cricket. We haven’t lost a series since the Asia Cup last year,” Agha said.
All of Pakistan’s matches will be played in Sri Lanka, where they toured in January. “Very happy to play in Sri Lanka — it’s a second home for me,” Agha noted.
“We know the conditions and we get a lot of support.” The possibility of a high-stakes semi-final or final showdown between the South Asian neighbours remains.
