‘This will harm cricket and the future of the game – Buster Ali slams BCCI over India-Pakistan controversy: The 2026 T20 World Cup will be remembered for all the off-field controversies that occurred at the start of the tournament. India are at loggerheads with Pakistan, who have refused to play the defending champions, while Bangladesh have also been excluded from the World Cup after the International Cricket Council (ICC) refused to move the venue from India citing security reasons. They were replaced in Group C by Scotland.

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has sparked fresh controversy by blaming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the drubbing ahead of the major tournament. On February 1, the Pakistan government confirmed their participation in the T20 World Cup, but they also stated on social media that they would not play against India. They did not provide an official reason. However, the decision was reportedly taken to show solidarity with Bangladesh.

Buster Ali accuses BCCI

After the BCCI ordered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release their star pacer Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh requested that the venue of the game be moved outside India. He was selected at the auction for a whopping price of INR 9.2 billion. Fans are not happy about this as tensions between the two countries escalate after several Hindus were killed in Bangladesh. This did not go well for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), resulting in a crushing defeat.

Your daily dose of cricket!

Basit Ali shared his views on this on his YouTube channel and felt that BCCI should show more maturity and announce the news after the T20 World Cup is over as it will not cause as much controversy as it is now.

“BCCI made a mistake by releasing Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL early. They could have let the matter cool down before making the announcement. If they had done it after the World Cup, we wouldn’t be here,” Ali said on his YouTube channel. “The mistake was there. It led to Bangladesh refusing to travel and now Pakistan has also taken action.”

Basit Ali talks India vs Pakistan debacle

After talking about Bangladesh’s humiliating defeat, he revealed the India-Pakistan match, which has been under a cloud after the Bengal Tigers were expelled from the ICC. As things stand, the Indian team is expected to pick up two points; however, he feels this does not bode well for the future of the sport.

Ali said: “If Pakistan does not play India and India gets two points for being penalized, it will harm cricket and the future of the sport.” If Pakistan does not play the match against its arch-rivals, the apex body will impose monetary and other sanctions, which may cause financial losses to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“There is no currency problem in Pakistan’s boardroom” – Bast Ali

However, Basit Ali believes that such a thing will not happen, and PCB will not suffer any losses due to government compensation.

Ali concluded by saying, “The Pakistani board does not have any funding problem. The government asks them to take such calls and then they will also give the money to the PCB.”

Also read: ‘Shameless’ Abrar Ahmed crosses line again, mocks Indian ‘tea’ in disgusting video