Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said Tuesday that Pakistan agreed to play its upcoming T20 World Cup match against India only after the International Cricket Council (ICC) addressed what he described as an “injustice” toward Bangladesh.
Uncertainty over the high-profile clash, scheduled for February 15, ended after the Pakistan government approved the team’s participation. The decision followed a trilateral meeting in Lahore between PCB officials, an ICC delegation and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam.
Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, Naqvi said Pakistan’s stance was based on principle and solidarity with Bangladesh.
“We kept no condition other than the context of Bangladesh,” he said. “Our only goal was to secure respect for Bangladesh and remedy the injustice done to them.”
The dispute began when Bangladesh declined to send its team to India over security concerns, after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was excluded from the Indian Premier League amid reported threats from communal extremists. The ICC subsequently rejected Bangladesh’s request to relocate its matches to Sri Lanka and replaced the team with Scotland, prompting criticism.
Naqvi had earlier accused the ICC of applying “double standards.” On Tuesday, he said the outcome marked a victory for Bangladesh.
“You saw that everything Bangladesh wanted has been accepted, and that is the main point,” he said. “Only after their demands were met and it was acknowledged that injustice had been done did we decide to play.”
He emphasized that Pakistan had no ulterior motive in threatening a boycott. “We had no personal interest in this matter. Our position was solely about Bangladesh,” Naqvi added.
Source: UNB
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
