Confirmed! Pakistan to boycott T20 World Cup match against India
What's the story
In a major development, Pakistan have decided to boycott their match against India in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The Government of Pakistan announced the same on its official X account on February 1. The post said that while permission had been granted for the national team to participate in Sri Lanka, they would not be playing on February 15 against India. However, no reason was given for this decision.
Uncertainty looms
Pakistan confirm boycott of India match
The participation of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup was earlier questioned by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. This came after Bangladesh's ouster from the tournament after the side refused to play in India over security concerns. Naqvi had said that the final decision on Pakistan's participation would be taken by the government, which has now been confirmed with this latest announcement.
Strategic decision
Speculation around partial boycott and squad announcement
Speculation had suggested that Pakistan might not fully boycott the tournament but specifically target their match against India. This was further fueled when the PCB announced their squad for the T20 World Cup within ICC's deadline, and a statement (later deleted) seemed to confirm Pakistan's participation in Sri Lanka. The team is in Group A with India, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA.
Match details
Impact of Pakistan's potential boycott
Pakistan will play all its matches in Sri Lanka, the co-hosts with India, as per the earlier mutual agreement. Their first match is against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by the USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. If Pakistan go ahead with their boycott against India, they will lose two points from this fixture.
NRR
How Pakistan's Net Run Rate will change
As per the ICC's Playing Conditions, Pakistan's Net Run Rate will take a hit by boycotting the India game. Clause 16.10.7 states that "the NRR of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team's innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition."
Tensions
How the matter escalated
The whole row stems from the BCCI's order to drop Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad. The deteriorating political relations between Bangladesh and India are believed to be a factor behind this. This prompted the Bangladesh government to officially announce that its team would not play matches in India. It even banned the IPL broadcast in the country. After the ICC rejected a series of requests from the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Scotland replaced the side.
Support
PCB shows support for Bangladesh
On the sidelines of this matter, the PCB showed support for the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Naqvi called the refusal to accept the BCB's request unfair. He said, "I think there has been injustice with Bangladesh... You can't have double standards." He further claimed that Bangladesh is a major stakeholder and has been treated unfairly in this situation. Naqvi's comments sparked speculation about the PCB's potential boycott of the T20 World Cup.