Following Bangladesh’s ouster from the T20 World Cup hosted by India, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi said at a press conference that Pakistan’s participation in the tournament was subject to government approval. On Sunday evening, a tweet from the official handle of the Government of Pakistan confirmed the country’s participation in the marquee tournament, but with a caveat:
“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026; however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India,” read the tweet.
This development came after the PCB publicly backed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), with Naqvi stating that “an injustice has been done to Bangladesh” following the rejection of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) proposal to play their matches in Sri Lanka. “We will favour Bangladesh, because one nation cannot dictate everything,” said Naqvi.
Now that the Government of Pakistan has confirmed it will boycott the match against India – scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka under the hybrid model the PCB agreed to in December 2024 – serious questions have emerged over the repercussions of this decision.
Sources close to the matter have indicated that the PCB could find itself in a precarious position. According to them, Pakistan could potentially face punitive measures, including the risk of being barred from international cricket.
An ICC board meeting is expected to be convened between Tuesday and Thursday. While the ICC has not yet received any official communication from the PCB, back-channel discussions are already under way.
Regarding India’s participation in the Asia Cup last year, sources claim this was driven partly by a desire to protect the associate member nations involved. Otherwise, India could have chosen to withdraw from the tournament. Sources suggest that Pakistan is being viewed as disregarding the larger interests of world cricket, with one source even describing the move as “potentially suicidal”.
They added that India had taken serious exception to being blamed in relation to the attacks in Balochistan, further straining relations.
The coming days are expected to be critical as the ICC deliberates on the matter.
