Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has finally addressed the speculation surrounding a possible boycott of the February 15 clash against India in the 2026 T20 World Cup, stating that a final decision will be taken after consultations with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and announced within the next two days.
Naqvi confirmed that the Pakistan government had instructed the national team not to take the field against India in Colombo, while permitting participation in the remainder of the tournament. The directive was issued as a gesture of “solidarity” with Bangladesh, who were removed from the tournament by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after refusing to travel to India for their scheduled matches over security concerns.
Despite Bangladesh’s reservations, the ICC maintained that an independent security assessment had cleared the arrangements and subsequently replaced Bangladesh with Scotland. The situation led to behind-the-scenes negotiations, with the ICC dispatching a delegation led by vice-chairman Imran Khwaja to Lahore. The delegation held meetings with Naqvi as well as officials from the Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and UAE cricket boards in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
Speaking to reporters, Naqvi said the PCB was still awaiting a response from the ICC before taking a call. “We have had discussions with them. It would not be right for me to make any comments right now. Once we get their response, we will decide. We will go back to the Prime Minister for advice once the ICC replies,” he said.
He added that a formal announcement was imminent. “An announcement will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
Naqvi also underlined Pakistan’s support for Bangladesh during the standoff. “We respect our guests, and the ICC came to our house, so we respected them. At this point in time, we cannot say much as negotiations between the ICC and Bangladesh are ongoing. Bangladesh’s stance was valid, so we had to back them,” he added.
