T20 World Cup: India captain Suryakumar Yadav says flight ‘booked’ for Pakistan group stage clash despite boycott
India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav says his team’s flight to Colombo is ‘booked’ despite a possible boycott by their opponents; Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton discussed the crisis on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast; tournament is live on Sky Sports from February 7
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team would travel to Colombo as planned for their T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan, despite their arch rivals’ decision to boycott the match.
The Pakistan government directed the team to boycott the February 15 Group A contest to show solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns.
“Our mindset is clear,” said Yadav in a captain’s press conference. “We have not refused to play – they have.
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“We’ve booked our flight and we are going.”
India, the reigning T20 world champions, are aiming to become the first hosts to win the tournament as well as the first team to win two T20 World Cups in a row.
Pakistan’s boycott of the India match would leave them with little margin for error in their bid to reach the Super 8s stage, as only the top two teams from each group in the 20-team tournament advance.
Salma Agha, Pakistan captain, deferred to the judgement of his government, stating that a decision to boycott the game was “not in our control”.
