Lahore/Dhaka, February 9 Pakistan is set to withdraw its boycott of the T20 World Cup match against India after being urged to do so by Bangladesh. PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said on Monday that an announcement on the issue can be expected within the next 24 hours.
Acknowledging hectic parleys with the ICC, also involving his Bangladesh counterpart Aminul Islam, Naqvi said the PCB is waiting for a response from the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on certain issues. The game against India is scheduled to be held in Colombo on February 15.
Media reports here said that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also received a call from Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who too urged him to withdraw the boycott call. 'Geo News' reported that Sharif responded to the request by assuring that Pakistan would play against India.
Naqvi, however, said it would take another day to reach a final decision.
"We have had discussions with them. It would not be right for me to make any comments right now. Once we get their response, we will decide. We will go back to the PM (Shehbaz Sharif) for advice once the ICC replies," Naqvi told reporters in Lahore.
"An announcement will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," he said.
"We respect our guests and the ICC came to our house, so we respected them. At this point in time, we cannot say much as negotiations between the ICC and Bangladesh are ongoing. Bangladesh's stance was valid so we had to back them," he added.
Bangladesh has been ousted from the tournament for refusing to play in India citing security concerns.
BCB chief Islam issued a statement in Dhaka, expressing his gratitude towards Pakistan for backing his country but requested that the team show up for the high-profile game for the greater good of the game.
"We are deeply moved by Pakistan's efforts to go above and beyond in supporting Bangladesh during this period. Long may our brotherhood flourish," Islam said in a statement.
"Following my short visit to Pakistan yesterday and given the forthcoming outcomes of our discussions, I request Pakistan to play the ICC T20 World Cup game on 15 February against India for the benefit of the entire cricket ecosystem," he added.
Naqvi brushed aside suggestions that the PCB was under pressure due to ICC's warning of punitive action.
"You know we are not ones to be afraid of these threats at all. Everyone knows our Field Marshall (Asim Munir). We are not worried about any sanctions," he said.
According to reliable sources in the PCB, Naqvi will brief Sharif later tonight or some time on Tuesday and request him to withdraw the boycott call.
It is understood that during his meeting with ICC deputy chair Imran Khawaja on Sunday, Naqvi had kept a few demands, including resumption of Indo-Pak bilateral cricket and a tri-series involving Bangladesh, to offset the losses that the BCB has incurred following their shocking ouster from the global event.
While Indo-Pak bilateral cricket isn't under ICC's purview, the demand for a tri-series was summarily rejected. India haven't played any tri-nation tournament for more than a decade now. However, the ICC might consider awarding the next men's Under-19 World Cup to Bangladesh.
The source said that during talks with Khawaja, Naqvi raised a number of grievances.
"He questioned Khwaja if the ICC had kept quiet if the Pakistan team had refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy at the presentation from any Indian board official," the source said.
The Asia Cup trophy lies locked at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) headquarters in Dubai after Naqvi, who currently heads the body, made it clear that only he would carry out the presentation formalities in full media glare.