'Selective influence must end': Pakistan legend takes a dig at ICC over Pakistan's T20 WC boycott against India

The Pakistan government announced its decision on Friday to not field the national cricket team during the league stage match against India on 15 February. Soon afterwards, former Pakistan head coach and captain Mohammad Yousaf came out in support of the decision and went on to call out ‘selective’ influence in world cricket.

Yousaf said it was a ‘tough but necessary’ step by the Pakistani government while taking a quiet dig at Indian influence within the ICC. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Yousaf wrote, “A tough but necessary stand by our Government. Principles must come before commercial interests. The ‘selective’ influence in world cricket needs to end for the game to truly be global. We play with pride, but we also stand for equality and justice in sports.”

Notably, the former Pakistan great appeared to be taking a dig at an earlier ICC statement where the global cricketing body said that “this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule.”

The ICC also said that the Pakistan government’s decision to not play the match against India was not in the interests of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide.

The global cricketing body further noted that it hoped the PCB would “consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country, as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of.”

What did the Pakistan government say? How did the Pakistan captain respond?

The Pakistan government announced on Sunday that it was allowing the national cricket team to participate in the T20 World Cup. However, the team would not be allowed to play the match against India on 15 February.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government did not clarify whether Pakistan would also walk out of a match if the two teams were to face each other in the final.

Since the announcement, there have been predictions of massive losses for broadcasters if the match against India does not take place. Some cricketing pundits have even suggested that the loss could be recovered from the PCB’s annual revenue share received from the ICC.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, when asked about the government’s decision, said, “We are going to the World Cup. Humara decision nahi hai, hum kuch nahi kar sakte. (The decision not to play against India isn't ours, so we cannot do anything about it.) Whatever our government or the PCB chief tells us to do, we will do that only.”