Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given justification as to why Pakistan has opted to boycott its group-stage match against India in the ICC Men T20 World Cup 2026. After several weeks of silence by the federation, Sharif confirmed that the move was made at the bequest of solidarity with Bangladesh which was scandinavously ousted of the tournament. It is the first acknowledgement that the government of Pakistan or the Pakistan Cricket Board made where he commentates that the boycott was directly connected to the exclusion of Bangladesh.
The government of Bangladesh denied the country permission to travel to India because of its security concerns and forced it out of the T20 World Cup. As India and Sri Lanka were both the co-host of the tournament, Bangladesh sought to have their games moved to Sri Lanka fully. The proposal was however rejected by the ICC after an independent evaluation reached no credible threat.
Later, the ICC board voted 14 in favor of replacing Bangladesh with Scotland, which was opposed by the PCB and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. It caused tremendous criticism to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi who is also the interior minister of Sharif in his cabinet, citing that the ICC was applying a dual standard and maltreating Bangladesh. In Islamabad, when Prime Minister Sharif was addressing the federal cabinet members, he stated that the decision of Pakistan to refuse to play India on February 15 was well thought.
“We have taken a very clear stand on the T20 World Cup that we won’t play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field. We have taken a very considered stance, and we should completely stand by Bangladesh, and I think this is a very appropriate decision,” the Pakistan Prime Minister said.
ICC to face significant financial losses if boycott goes ahead
The Pakistani administration had already announced that the national squad would compete in the competition but would boycott the India match without providing a justification. Following this, the ICC warned the PCB about the potential long-term effects. In a statement, the governing body urged Pakistan to rethink, warning that such moves could disrupt world cricket. The ICC faces enormous financial losses if the boycott is carried out, as India-Pakistan matches are the tournament’s most commercially successful.
Despite mounting pressure, the PCB has not formally stated its position to the ICC, while back-channel negotiations are apparently taking place. Naqvi has continued to contend that providing India flexibility in travel decisions but denying it to Bangladesh demonstrates governance irregularities.
