Pakistan will boycott their game against India at the 2026 T20 World Cup. A post issued by the Government of Pakistan's official X account said the government had granted permission to the Pakistan team to travel to Sri Lanka for the tournament. However, it announced that "the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India".
The statement did not specify a reason for that decision. The full post on X was as follows: "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 15th February 2026 against India." It is understood the PCB is yet to write to the ICC informing them of the boycott.
The India-Pakistan fixture is by far the most lucrative - and usually most-watched - game of any ICC tournament. To capitalise on that, the ICC have ensured the two teams are always in the same group of any ICC event since 2012, even as worsening diplomatic relations between the two nations means they have not played a bilateral fixture in 14 years. There is no word yet on what happens should the two sides meet in a knockout game but this T20 World Cup now looks set to become the first men's ICC event since 2010 not to feature an India-Pakistan game in the group stages.
Pakistan's participation, or the extent of it, at the 2026 T20 World Cup had been thrown into doubt by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi after Bangladesh were removed from the tournament on January 24 following their refusal to play in India due to security concerns. Pakistan was the only country vocally supportive of Bangladesh's request for alternate venue, and reacted to their removal by accusing the ICC of double standards favouring India. He said the government would ultimately decide whether Pakistan were to take part in the tournament.
Post a Comment
0 Comments