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Will Pakistan face India in the group stage of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup on February 15? The competition starts on February 7, and the answer is still unclear. Pakistan has kept the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the entire cricket fraternity guessing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened to boycott the high-profile T20 World Cup in strong protest against the International Cricket Council’s expulsion of Bangladesh from the tournament. Currently, the ICC and PCB are in discussions to arrange the match on February 15 as originally planned.
ICC holds meeting with PCB
The Pakistan government announced via its official social media account that its men’s cricket team will participate in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup but will not play against its arch-rivals in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 15. Notably, this was notified by the Pakistan government and not the PCB. So what’s the PCB’s position?
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PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has threatened to boycott the match. The government’s decision comes days after Naqvi met Prime Minister Sherbaz Sharif. The boycott call is believed to be heavily influenced by Naqvi as he is also the country’s home minister.
There are a number of measures that the ICC can take against the Pakistan cricket team if they miss the match against the Men in Blue. Even being banned from major tournaments is possible. But the Jay Shah-led council urged the PCB to participate in the tournament as per the schedule.
PCB calls for match against India on February 15
According to recent media reports, ICC officials recently held talks with PCB officials to understand the situation and solve the problem. According to reports, after discussions between the two parties, the situation was far from normal.
It was claimed on social media platforms that the cricket board has put forward multiple criteria to International Cricket Council officials to reverse their call to boycott the 2026 T20 World Cup against India at the neutral venue Colombo. The ICC reportedly rejected the PCB’s request.
Requests made by the PCB and rejected by the ICC:
– PCB demanded that BCCI must allow bilateral engagement of its national team with Pakistan, but ICC denied this.
– PCB has called for a tri-nation series between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the near future. The ICC also rejected this.
– The PCB has demanded that the Indian national cricket team must travel to Bangladesh this year, which is also a requirement of the International Cricket Council.
The main issue ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup is between the ICC and Bangladesh. Pakistan deliberately prolonged the dispute by threatening to boycott the entire tournament. It was later learned that the team would boycott only India matches. The stance taken by Pakistan appears to be more political than cricketing.
