Pakistan Great Gives Huge Verdict On T20 World Cup Row: "Don't Include Politics"

Pakistan legend Zaheer Abbas said that politics should not be mixed with cricket and urged the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to be friendly with each other amid the ongoing T20 World Cup controversy. Pakistan announced that it will be participating in the competition but will not play the group stage match against India on February 15. With the two countries not playing bilateral series due to political tensions, ICC events are the only places where they face each other. However, the current development has put their T20 World Cup match in jeopardy. Abbas said that the two countries "should play like brothers" and make sure that cricket takes precedence over everything else.

"What I mean to say is be friendly with each other, play cricket, and don't include politics in this game. This is a very good game, and we should play together," Zaheer Abbas told SportsTak.

"We should play like brothers, and we should keep playing and playing without harming anybody or without anything. Without anything means, we should play like we are playing against a neighbouring country" he added.

Calling Pakistan's boycott of their T20 World Cup match against India an "appropriate decision, the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it was a "considered stance" to support Bangladesh.

Pakistan's cricket team has been told by the government to skip the February 15 game in Colombo after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play its games in India on account of "security concerns".

"We have taken a very clear stand on the T20 World Cup that we won't play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field,” Sharif stated after a government meeting here.

"We have taken a very considered stance, and we should completely stand by Bangladesh, and I think this is a very appropriate decision. We are with Bangladesh," he added.

A livid ICC has warned the Pakistan Cricket Board of serious consequences if it fails to show up for the high-profile match, which is a money magnet at the big event for sponsors, broadcasters and advertisers.

(With PTI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Syed Zaheer Abbas Pakistan Cricket Board BCCI International Cricket Council T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket