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Cricket PlayersSalman Ali Agha addresses India-Pakistan tensions as uncertainty over T20 World Cup match grows: ‘Not hurt but…’
Ahead of the T20 World Cup match against the Netherlands, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha addresses the tensions with India.
Pakistan, led by Salman Ali Agha, will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Saturday. However, a day before the match, Agha's official press interaction was flooded with queries about India. The Government of Pakistan announced on February 1 that the team would not take the field against India on February 15 in Colombo, following Bangladesh's being shown the door from the tournament for refusing to travel to India. If Pakistan don't play against the arch-rival, then India would be given two points, and even the former's net run rate would take a substantial hit.
Pakistan, which lost to the USA in the 2024 World Cup, cannot take anything lightly; they must hit the ground running, as the match against India is unlikely to take place.
This development is the latest flashpoint in the relations between India and Pakistan. Last year, the Asia Cup 2025 edition saw multiple controversies, including players from two teams not shaking hands, and the Indian team refusing to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chief and the Interior Minister of Pakistan.
Also Read: Pakistan captain Salman Agha stirs BCB-ICC tension with Bangladesh remark before World Cup: 'Really sad not to see them'
When asked whether he was hurt seeing the actions of the Indian team in the Asia Cup, Agha replied, “We don't really feel hurt or anything like that. But, yeah, for the game is not good. I can say that, like, with my chest open. Like, for the game, these things obviously should not happen. And me, growing up as a kid, always have seen people doing what required for the game to be improved.”
“And I think by doing that, we, to some extent, we are role models. We don't do that. Because if you do that, then kids are going to pick up this and tomorrow, like, they are going to do the same things. So, I think these things should not happen. Because if you think role models, I think role models don't do this stuff,” he told reporters in Colombo on Friday.
With the fate of the match against India hanging in the balance, Pakistan cannot afford a slip-up in the three remaining matches against the Netherlands, the USA and Namibia. However, Agha said that there is no pressure on the team and they are taking it one game at a time.
He also stated that the unpredictable weather of Sri Lanka is not weighing too much on his mind for now, as the focus remains on doing the best for the team.
“No, no, there is no pressure at all because whenever you come to an ICC tournament, you have to win almost all of your games. And when we came here, we thought that we would win all the games and give our best in all the games. In the same way, we will try to give our best in the games that we play,” said the 32-year-old.
“Weather is not in our control, it is something we cannot control at all, so talking about it and - as a team, we do not talk about it. And the thing that is not in control, there is no point in controlling it. And we only think about how to win the three matches that we have. Now, how the weather will be, how it will not be, we have to deal with it. But we do not think much about it,” he added.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Letter
On Thursday evening, Sri Lanka Cricket also wrote a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), urging Mohsin Naqvi to reconsider not playing against India, as it would lead to severe financial losses for Sri Lanka, the co-hosts of the tournament.
When asked about the letter sent by Sri Lanka Cricket, Agha sidestepped the question, saying he isn't thinking much about these things.
“By just avoiding that. It's something we, as a group, in our circle, we don't really talk about and we don't really see what's happening outside in the group. And I think that's the best we can do. We can avoid all this and just focus on our game and for Sri Lanka, there are other three games as well. I know Sri Lanka loves us and we love them as well. They've always supported us and that's what we have done as well,” said Agha.
