ICC T20 World Cup Received A Jerk As Pakistan Refused To Play Against India.

Mumbai; February 2026: Hours after Pakistan decided to boycott its T20 World Cup group stage match against India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said that “selective participation” is not fair with the “fundamental premise of a global sporting event” and that it expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.

Pakistan has decided to boycott its group-stage match against India in the ICC World T20 World Cup, scheduled for February 15. The Pakistan government said in a post on X that the Pakistan Team “shall not take the field” in the match against India without giving any reason. ICC said in a release that it has noted the statement that the Government of Pakistan has made regarding the decision to instruct its national team to selectively participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

“While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule”, the release said. It said that ICC tournaments are built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness, and selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions.

“While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan. The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of”, the release said. It said ICC’s priority remains the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which should also be the responsibility of all its members including the PCB. “It expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders”, the release said.

While Pakistan remembers a horrific record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups; among 08 encounters the have been completely outplayed in 07. Moreover, in the Asia Cup last year, Pakistan was clean swept by a clinical India in a trilogy of entertaining matches, including the final. Throughout these matches, young Indian stars Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma bullied Pakistan bowlers with their fiery knocks, with Tilak scoring a brilliant 69* during a tense 147-run chase in final, showing his big match temperament.

Pakistan had announced its squad for the T20 World Cup last month being hosted by India and Sri Lanka. They are placed in Group A alongside India, Namibia, Netherlands and USA.

The Indian team is in terrific form ahead of the World Cup and won the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 4-1. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the country’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi last month met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to brief him on the matter of the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision after Bangladesh refused to send its team to India over purported “security concerns”.

ICC had last month announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule. The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB’s demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka, in the 20-team tournament to be played from February 07th to March 08th, according to an official release.

The decision followed an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India. Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person. As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.

The ICC’s assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladeshi national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the

published event schedule. The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.

Following its meeting, the IBC Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.

Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy.

The Men in Blue will play their opening fixture against the USA on February 07th, followed by their match against on February 12th.

Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has said that the Pakistan Government and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are damaging their own cricket by supporting Bangladesh. The former Indian cricketer added that Bangladesh and Pakistan will suffer for not doing the right thing at the moment. Madan Lal said, ” It’s not going to solve their problems. Someone has to be there to think right. They are not thinking right at the moment. They want to support Bangladesh. You keep on supporting Bangladesh. That’s not our business. At the end of the day, Bangladesh is going to suffer, and Pakistan is going to suffer. The main thing is New Zealand, England, South Africa, Australia, they are the biggest countries for cricket, they’re going to get the crowds, they’re going to get all the sponsorship.

At the same time, Former India cricketer Atul Wassan has come down heavily on Pakistan’s decision not to play India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 game on February 15th in Sri Lanka, warning of serious consequences for Pakistan cricket for boycotting the India match. Wassan has also

highlighted the financial fallout Pakistan could face, warning that the losses would be far more severe than many anticipate. Wassan said, “I feel a little sorry for them, and I’m also a little surprised. What do they want? As they say, “When destruction is imminent, wisdom fails”. Because if Pakistan doesn’t play this match and concede the points, and then you meet India later, will you still not play? So, if you’ve decided this, then you haven’t left ICC with any option. ICC will have to kick them out because it would be blackmail, wouldn’t it? They don’t know the financial loss will be significant.

Furthermore, Wassan dismissed the perception that the ICC functions under India’s control, clarifying the distinction between the global body and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). They are trying to find every possible way to spite India, to retaliate against India. They don’t understand that they’re heading towards ruin. Maybe the Pakistani players will relax, because they know they’re going to lose anyway, so the humiliation will be less.

The decision of the Pakistani Board has infuriated the cricket lovers to such an extent that, Sanjay Singh President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that the Indian Government, along with players, should also boycott the neighbouring country. the WFI president said, “The Indian government and our players should also totally boycott Pakistan. There should be a complete boycott”.

Sanjay Singh also hailed the organisation of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) 2026, which concluded on Sunday. Speaking about the PWL, the WFI president said the league is progressing as planned, noting that additional preparation time would have helped. He highlighted that motivated wrestlers are producing unexpected results, which he believes will benefit India in international competitions.

“Everything is going as planned. If we had a little more time, it would have been better. The league is going on well. There are unexpected results because our wrestlers are highly motivated. This will benefit us in international tournaments”.

Team Maverick.