Pakistan's match against India is scheduled for February 15 in Colombo.
Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha reacted to the government's decision to boycott the scheduled T20 World Cup 2026 fixture against India in Colombo on February 15.
On Sunday (February 1), the Government of Pakistan confirmed that the team would travel to Sri Lanka to take part in the global showpiece but directed them to skip the group-stage clash with arch-rivals India.
The move comes days after the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s plea to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka. BCB had cited ‘security concerns” for their players in India following heightened tensions between the two countries and the release of Mustafizur Rahman by IPL franchise KKR on BCCI’s instructions.
However, the apex body turned down the request, saying no such verifiable threat existed while also highlighting the logistical difficulty of altering the tournament schedule so close to the event. Bangladesh maintained their stance and were later replaced by Scotland in the 20-team tournament.
Addressing the media after Pakistan’s third T20I against Australia in Lahore, Agha said the decision was beyond the Pakistan players’ control. He further stated that the squad would follow the instructions of the government and the cricket board.
“Yes, absolutely, we will go. But that is not our decision, sir, and we cannot do anything about it. Whatever our government and our chairman instruct us to do, we have to follow. Only then will we go, and we will do that,” Agha told reporters.
Pakistan are in Group A alongside India, Namibia, Netherlands, and USA, with all their matches scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.
If the Men in Green fail to take the field against India on February 15, the match will be ruled a forfeit under ICC rules, resulting in an automatic loss of two points and a hit to their net run rate.
Clause 16.10.7 states that in the event of a forfeit, "the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team's innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition."