MUMBAI: India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Thursday that his team would travel to Sri Lanka to play their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group match against Pakistan, despite the Green Shirts’ announcement that they will boycott the match against Men in Blue in the tournament.
Addressing a press conference after the Captains’ Carnival, Yadav emphasised that the players are fully prepared to follow the official plan laid out by the ICC, BCCI and the government, underlining that there has been no reluctance from India’s side to play the match.
“I think mindset is pretty clear. We have not said no to playing the match. It came from the other side. ICC has given the official fixtures. BCCI and the government has decided on a neutral venue along with ICC. Our flight is booked for Colombo. So we are going for sure,” Suryakumar said.
He further shed light on the team’s internal planning and discussions, outlining the roadmap for their tournament campaign and confirming that the squad is aligned with the schedule announced by the governing bodies.
“The team discussion is that we are playing first on February 7, then we will go there,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha also commented on the ongoing ambiguity surrounding a potential encounter against India, reiterating that the final call rests with the government.
He emphasised that neither the cricket board nor the players have any authority over the matter, and that the government’s decision will be final.
“The decision regarding the match against India has to be made by the government. Whether there will be a match against India or not is uncertain, but we will follow whatever the government decides,” Salman Ali Agha said.
On February 1, the government of Pakistan announced that its national men’s team would participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 but would not take the field in the group-stage match against arch-rivals India.
The decision was shared through the official X handle of the government of Pakistan.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India,” the government of Pakistan stated.
Pakistan had decided to boycott the February 15 match against arch-rivals India to show solidarity with Bangladesh, which the International Cricket Council (ICC) kicked out of the tournament after rejecting Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to move their matches to a venue outside India.
