Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has had his say on the IND vs PAK boycott controversy. Pakistan are engaged in discussions with ICC after their government announced a boycott of the February 15 clash at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. “I’m really surprised with Pakistan backing out of the World Cup. You come to a World Cup to win it, and every point is important. You can’t lose points in a World Cup, so I’m a little surprised — but that’s the decision they’re taking,” he said.
Should a boycott go through, India will be awarded the two points from the game. Pakistan would suffer heavily on net run rate and depending on the outcome of other games, could hurt their chances to qualify for the Super 8s. That alongside several other sanctions the ICC could impose on the PCB for boycotting the game. An ICC delegation, led by deputy chairman Imran Khawaja arrived in Lahore for face to face talks with PCB in a bid to de-escalate the controversy. CEO Sanjog Gupta also held talks in Colombo with PCB on Saturday. BCB chief Aminul Islam was also in attendance for the meet. As per TOI, after initial discussions the IND vs PAK game is likely to get a green signal.
The ICC has already sought an explanation from Pakistan on how the ‘Force Majeure’ clause can be invoked to justify the team’s refusal to play the T20 World Cup match against India after the PCB tried to wriggle out of the situation by putting the onus on its government.