Salman Agha’s hands tied; Pakistan captain urges to shift attention to ‘3 other games’ as India World Cup match unlikely

“The India game is not in our control. It was the government’s decision," Pakistan captain Salman Agha reiterated his point.

Salman Ali Agha had nothing new to add to his previous stance regarding facing India at the T20 World Cup on February 15. On Sunday, Agha stood by the Pakistan government’s decision to boycott the India clash in Colombo, with little changing over the last four days. During the captain’s press conference, despite being asked the same question several times, Salman reiterated his point of abiding by the orders.

Salman Agha is clear as to what Pakistan have to do (AFP)

“The India game is not in our control. It was the government’s decision, and again, if we have to play them in the semi-final or the final, we have to go back to them and act on their advice. It's the government's decision, and we respect that and whatever they are going to say, we’ll do it,” Agha said on Thursday.

Pakistan, watch out for the USA

Pakistan open their T20 World Cup campaign on Saturday against the Netherlands before facing the USA on February 10. If the India match doesn’t take place, Pakistan get an eight-day break before playing Namibia. Among these teams, the USA is one they’d better watch out for since they handed them a rude upset two years ago. The skipper urged the media to shift its focus to the three matches at hand, rather than repeatedly beating the India vs Pakistan drum.

“We are playing three other games, and we are very excited about that. Yeah, 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 that,” added Agha.

Pakistan are entering the T20 World Cup on the back of beating Australia 3-0 at home a few nights ago. Switching from Babar Azam in the last three T20 World Cups to now Agha, Pakistan will be hoping for a good show, aiming to go one up from their semi-final finish in 2021.

“It's my first World Cup as a captain, and I'm very excited about that. And yeah, I don't know how to describe myself as a captain. Let the people do it, I just want to lead from the front and try to make as much as I can for my players and take the best out of them and give them an environment where they can play their best,” the captain pointed out.