Suryakumar Yadav confirms India will play Pakistan in T20 World Cup

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team will travel to Colombo for the ICC T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on February 15, despite Pakistan’s boycott. India open their campaign against USA on February 7, with fixtures set by ICC

Mumbai: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Thursday said his team will travel to Colombo for its ICC T20 World Cup match against Pakistan even though the neighbouring country has announced a boycott of the game.

India are scheduled to face the arch-rivals on February 15, but Pakistan’s cricket team has been told by its government to skip the fixture after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play in India citing “security concerns.”

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“I feel their decision is not in my control. I wish I could take their call but it is their decision. We had played in the Asia Cup as well and we played them three times,” Suryakumar said during the pre-tournament captains’ press meet here.

The World Cup begins on Saturday and India will take on USA in its opening match the same evening.

“Our mindset is pretty clear. We have not said no to playing against Pakistan. They have. ICC has given the fixture. Our flight is booked and we are going there (to Colombo). The team discussion is that we are playing first on February 7, then we will go there,” he added.

“We played some good cricket against them. We have been told that the game is on the 15th, the game is at a neutral venue and if we get an opportunity we will play. It’s a difficult call for them (Pakistani players) as well,” he observed.