Pakistan to BOYCOTT T20 World Cup 2026 match vs India, Govt of Pak has said…

New Delhi: Pakistan have announced they will boycott their match against India at the 2026 T20 World Cup. In a statement posted on the Government of Pakistan’s official X account, the government said that the national team will travel to Sri Lanka for the tournament but also confirmed that the Pakistan cricket team will boycott the match scheduled for February 15, 2026 clash against India. No reason has been provided for the decision yet.

The official X handle of the Government of Pakistan announced, “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026; however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.”

Since the ICC announced Scotland as Bangladesh’s replacement in the tournament, the PCB chairman has intensified his criticism of the global body, claiming that Bangladesh were treated unfairly.

Pakistan supported Bangladesh’s alternate venue request

Pakistan was the only nation to openly support Bangladesh’s request for an alternate venue and criticized the ICC for showing double standards in favor of India. Naqvi added that the final decision on Pakistan’s participation would rest with the government.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Naqvi said that they are free to explore all possible options to address the issue. He had previously indicated that a decision would be taken on “Friday or next Monday With the deadline just a day away, the Pakistan government now appears to have reached its decision

There had been a lot of speculation that Pakistan would skip the match against India rather than boycotting the entire competition. The rumours intensified after the PCB announced its World Cup squad within the ICC deadline, and a statement initially shared with the media but later withdrawn suggested the team would travel to Sri Lanka for the event.

Pakistan are placed in Group A along with India, Namibia, Netherlands and USA, and will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, one of the tournament’s co-hosts alongside India. Pakistan will play their World Cup opener against the Netherland on February 7, followed by matches against the USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. If Pakistan boycott their match against India, they will forfeit the two points for that fixture.

What is ICC’s rule if a team forfeits a T20 World Cup match?

As per ICC’s Playing Conditions, Pakistan’s net run rate will be affected by the forfeiture, while India’s will remain unchanged. Clause 16.10.7 specifies that in the case of a forfeit, “the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team’s innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition.”