Following a plea by his Bangladeshi counterpart, Pakistan Cricket Board president Mohsin Naqvi is expected to ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to lift the boycott of their Twenty20 World Cup match against India, according to a PCB source.
Later on Monday, Naqvi is scheduled to update Sharif on the most recent developments about the matter. On Sunday, February 15, the match against India is slated to take place in Colombo.
“Naqvi will brief the PM on the communications he has had with the Bangladesh, Sri Lankan and Emirates cricket boards and with the ICC on the crisis,” PTI quoted the source as saying.
Amin ul Islam, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, was in Lahore on Sunday to attend the discussions between Naqvi and Imran Khawaja, the ICC’s vice chairman and independent director.
Both the Emirates board and Sri Lanka have pushed the nation to reconsider its choice, and the PCB source verified that Islam asked Naqvi to lift the boycott while expressing gratitude for Pakistan’s support of Bangladesh cricket.
He stated that in light of the conversation and the requests from the boards of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates, Naqvi is probably going to petition the Prime Minister to allow the team to play India in the World Cup. But Sharif will have the last say, and the PCB will follow his decision.
According to the source, Naqvi brought up a variety of concerns with Khawaja during their discussions.
“He questioned Khawaja if the ICC had kept quiet if the Pakistan team had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy at the presentation from any Indian board official,” the source said.
Since Naqvi, the current head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), made it clear that only he would do the presenting procedures in front of the media, the trophy still lies locked at the ACC headquarters in Dubai.
Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in India due to security concerns resulted in their elimination from the World Cup.
