T20 World Cup | Pakistan likely to boycott India game: Report
India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet in Sri Lanka on February 15. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said the Pakistan government would decide on the participation of the team in the T20 World Cup
After the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland for the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is now considering boycotting their game against India over the “injustice” meted out to Bangladesh, a media report said on Monday (January 26).
Also read: Why loudest noise around T20 World Cup 2026 has little to do with cricket
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India to play the T20 World Cup over security issues. The BCB had requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the tournament.
Pakistan’s backing of Bangladesh
However, ICC refused to change the schedule of the tournament and gave the BCB a 24-hour deadline to confirm their participation in the T20 World Cup. With the BCB sticking to its stand of not travelling to India, ICC removed the team and brought in Scotland as the replacement.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2026 full schedule
During the entire issue, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been backing Bangladesh. At the ICC Board meeting, PCB voted in favour of Bangladesh backing their request to shift the matches from India.
After Bangladesh’s removal, the PCB accused ICC of “double standards”, saying the world governing body was supporting India, allowing them to do "whatever they want" and not others.
What PCB said
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday said the Pakistan government would decide on the participation of the team in the T20 World Cup.
“Our stance (on World Cup participation) will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me. The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I’ll be able to give you our final decision. It’s the government’s decision. We obey them, not the ICC,” Naqvi said.
“I think Bangladesh has been hard done by. You can’t have double standards. You can’t say for one country (India) they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite. That's why we've taken this stand, and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket,” he added.
India vs Pakistan game scheduled for Feb 15
On Monday, Pakistan’s Geo News, citing sources, reported that Pakistan was mulling not playing their T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 in Sri Lanka.
“According to insiders, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reviewing various protest options and will keep all possibilities open, even if the team participates in the tournament,” the report said.
“Sources said that skipping the India fixture would cost Pakistan only two points but could cause significant financial losses for the ICC,” the report added.