PESHAWAR:

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday said the board had no personal agenda regarding the T20 World Cup dispute in meetings with officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), adding that the only objective was to get respect for Bangladesh and highlight the injustice done to them.

“I don’t think we set any such condition apart from Bangladesh. Our objective was only to get respect for Bangladesh, to highlight the injustice that was done to them, and you saw that whatever things Bangladesh said were accepted, and that’s it,” Naqvi said while speaking to the media in Peshawar.

“We had no personal agenda in this, that we would take out some personal objective. They can say whatever they want about this, but purely our work was only Bangladesh-related, and the government made the decision on that,” he stated.

Read: Bangladesh defy ICC ultimatum, refuse to tour India for T20 World Cup

The PCB chairman’s statement comes a day after the Pakistani government announced it was withdrawing its decision to boycott the group-stage match against arch-rival India in the T20 World Cup, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo.

The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, began on February 7 but was overshadowed after Bangladesh refused to play in India citing security concerns amid soured political relations between the neighbours.

Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after the ICC rejected their request to move their matches to Sri Lanka. Pakistan expressed solidarity with Bangladesh and protested the ICC decision, subsequently announcing that the national team would not play against India.

The development to reverse Pakistan’s boycott followed negotiations that included the ICC and the cricket boards of Pakistan and Bangladesh, along with consultations among national leaders nations such as Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday, ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja and BCB President Aminul Islam landed in Lahore and held marathon talks with Naqvi at Gaddafi Stadium.

During the meeting, Khawaja urged Pakistan to reconsider its decision not to play against India, saying the team should participate “in the broader interest of cricket”. The BCB president thanked Pakistan for its support during the talks.

Subsequently, on Monday, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged Pakistan to play its T20 World Cup clash against India in a conversation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, recalling Pakistan’s past solidarity with Sri Lankan cricket during difficult times.

The government late on Monday night directed the Pakistan national cricket team to take the field on February 15, with the decision taken to “protect the spirit of cricket”.

The ICC also confirmed that no penalties or sanctions would be imposed on Bangladesh in relation to its non-participation in the T20 World Cup. In a joint statement with the PCB and BCB, the governing body noted that Bangladesh remains a valued full member with a rich cricketing history and a vital role in global cricket development.

Two teams for Peshawar

During his media talk in Peshawar, Naqvi also announced that Peshawar would have two teams, citing the region’s significant cricketing potential.

“Nearly 7% of our team players are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. There is a lot of potential here,” he said.

“We decided a few days ago that Peshawar will have two teams because given the potential here, even two teams are not enough, but for now we have made two teams immediately,” Naqvi stated.

The PCB chairman revealed that the board was working closely with the K-P sports board on domestic cricket. “They have done quite detailed work for academies and grounds here, and you will see the results in the coming days,” he said, adding that this is for the promotion of regional sports.

Terrorism and security

The interior minister was also asked about the dual challenges of external threats from banned militant groups and internal pressure from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s planned sit-ins in Islamabad.

Read More: ‘All the pressure’ on Pakistan as USA out to inflict another T20 shock

In response, Naqvi confirmed that an apex committee meeting and a subsequent follow-up session had been held to establish clarity on counter-terrorism efforts, asserting that “Pakistan comes first and we are all working together to counter terrorism.”

He specifically credited the K-P Police and Counter Terrorism Department for their collaborative role in addressing a major incident in Islamabad, expressing confidence that unified efforts would defeat such threats.

When further asked if K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had attended the security meeting he had just chaired, Naqvi declined to give an immediate confirmation, stating that the full details of the meeting would be made available shortly.