PCB plans to protest exclusion of Pakistan captain from ICC T20 World Cup promotional poster

New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to protest the exclusion of the national team's captain, Salman Agha, from the promotional poster of the ICC T20 World Cup released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday.

Five captains, including Suryakumar Yadav of India, Dasun Shanaka of Sri Lanka, Mitchell Marsh of Australia, Harry Brook of England, and Aiden Markram of South Africa, featured on the poster released on Thursday to announce that ticket sales will begin on December 11.

The absence of Agha irked the Pakistani fans and media, and as per a report in Telecom Asia Sport, PCB sources called the absence "surprising" and "concerning".

"The release of the poster is a matter of concern because it shows bias against Pakistan by not including our captain, Salman's picture. The Board is going to register its protest with the ICC," a PCB official was quoted as saying in the report.

It is not the first time Salman has been excluded from prominent promotional campaigns. The Pakistan T20I skipper was absent from the Asia Cup 2025 poster and trailer released by the official broadcasters Sony Pictures in August. After a forceful appeal from the PCB, the poster was changed.

However, the change happened during the Asia Cup carried out only because the protest was led by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

That's not the case this time around as the tournament is organised by Jay Shah-led ICC.

"During the Asia Cup (2025), PCB's protest worked because the Board had leverage. In this case, the ICC may not pay as much attention," the source said as quoted in the Telecom Asia Sport report.

India and Pakistan will reignite their fierce rivalry in the T20 World Cup 2026 during a league match scheduled to be held on February 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.