Cricket
ICC T20 World Cup
In support of Bangladesh, Pakistan abstains from the India match: Sports Desk by Shehbaz Sharif
Published: February 5, 2026, 04:40
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Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, Reuters file photo
In protest over Bangladesh's exclusion from the ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistan has chosen to boycott their match against India, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The prime minister stated, "We have taken a very clear view on the T20 World Cup," while speaking to his cabinet on Wednesday. Since politics has no place in sports, we shall not play India. This choice was made after giving it some thought. We ought to wholeheartedly support Bangladesh. I think this is a really wise choice.
After the International Cricket Council (ICC) disqualified Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup without considering Dhaka's security concerns, Pakistan declared that it will not be playing against India.
Even though the PCB's decision was made public last week, the Pakistani government has never before openly explained its rationale.
Earlier, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had questioned what he called the double standards of the ICC.
India and Sri Lanka will co-host the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, which is set to start on February 7. The India-Pakistan game was scheduled for February 15 in Colombo.
However, the official X account of the Pakistani government declared on Sunday that the Pakistani squad would not play India. Regarding the issue, the PCB has not publicly commented.
On the same day, however, the ICC released a statement encouraging Pakistan to “reconsider” its decision, warning of its “long-term implications”.
Bangladesh had chosen not to send its side to India for the T20 World Cup after cricketer Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Indian Premier League (IPL) following threats from extremist groups in India.
On 4 January, Bangladesh requested the ICC to transfer its World Cup matches to Sri Lanka. The ICC dismissed the motion, calling the Mustafizur event as “isolated and irrelevant”.
Bangladesh’s interim government’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul later remarked that the ICC had failed to take the security of Bangladeshi players into account, while the Indian government had not issued any assurances on the subject.
When Bangladesh stayed firm in its decision not to send the squad to India, the ICC ultimately withdrew Bangladesh from the tournament and included Scotland instead.
Questioning why security issues were considered in the situations of India and Pakistan but not Bangladesh, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi attacked what he called the ICC’s double standards.
He also remarked that Bangladesh was being treated unfairly. Earlier, Naqvi had voted in favour of Bangladesh during the ICC board meeting on whether to change the tournament venue.
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