T20 World Cup: Surya & Co ready to travel to Colombo for Pakistan game

The shadows of uncertainty over the highly billed 15 February league game between India and Pakistan cast a shadow at the Captains Day on Thursday—even before the T20 World Cup has begun. While Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said they were mentally prepared to play the game, his counterpart Salman Ali Agha showed solidarity with Bangladesh and said ‘’it’s a pity’’ they are not present in the T20 showpiece.

Fielding the most obvious question about the Pakistan game in a media session in Mumbai at the BCCI House, Surya said India would travel to Colombo as planned and remain match-ready, even if Pakistan refuse to take the field. According to him, the onus of the situation does not lie with India. “Our mindset is very clear. We haven’t said no to playing them; they are the ones who’ve said no. Our flights are booked, and we are going to Colombo. Our fixtures are ready — first USA, then Canada, and then we are off to Colombo,” Suryakumar said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) protocol mandates that even if there is a possibility of the rival team forfeiting the match, the Indian team will have to be present at the venue, complete all pre-match requirements such as training sessions and media commitments—and then await the instructions of the match referee should Pakistan fail to appear.  

Incidentally, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified earlier in the day that boycotting the India game was a well thought out decision taken in solidarity with Bangladesh.

 The strains of geopolitics reverberated once more in Colombo when Pakistan skipper Salman referred to Bangladesh as their brothers. ‘’Well, they are our brothers. Thank you very much for them supporting us. And I’ll say they can support us in the tournament as well. And it’s really sad to see them. They are not playing the World Cup. Hopefully, they can carry on supporting us in the tournament as well,’’ he said.

It was not a surprise that almost all questions directed at Salman referred to the India game—and he maintained it was a government decision which they were abiding by. ‘’Yeah, the India game is not in our control. It’s a government decision and we respect that. Whatever they are going to say, we do that. And then, yeah, we’re playing three other games, and we are very excited for that.

 ‘’It’s true that we lost to USA in the last World Cup, but that’s history now. It’s a new World Cup, and it’s a new team and a new combination. And we are very excited for that.’’

While the Pakistan government has decided, as of now, to forfeit the league match against India—there is no guideline about what the team ought to do should they run into India again in the later stages of the tournament. Asked about it, Salman toed the same line: ‘’Well, I have mentioned that before. It is a government decision and we respect that. We will do what they are going to say and we will do that.’’