The already-troubled T20 World Cup has been plunged deeper into chaos after Pakistan’s government instructed its national team not to play their fixture against India.
The ICC had already had to make a late revision to the plan for the tournament after Bangladesh pulled out in protest at having to play in India.
Scotland were called up to replace them, but that decision was objected to by Pakistan, who accused the ICC of double standards and threatened to boycott.
Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, said they would be guided by government advice on whether to play their match against India in Sri Lanka on Sunday, February 15.
On Sunday evening, the government of Pakistan announced it had instructed the team not to take the field for that game.
A statement by the Pakistan government said: “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.”
The ramifications are huge for cricket. Even though relations are so fraught between the two countries that they do not play each other in bilateral series, the draw at ICC competitions are always fixed so they are in the same group.
There is a very obvious reason for this: it is the most lucrative fixture in world cricket. It has been estimated the forfeit could lead to a loss of up to $50 million in broadcast and advertising revenue.
The ICC are imploring the PCB to reconsider their stance, although their response on Sunday night focused on the “sanctity” of the competition, rather than the loss of revenue.
In response to the Pakistan government, the ICC said: “The ICC notes the statement that the government of Pakistan has made regarding the decision to instruct its national team to selectively participate in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
“While the ICC awaits official communication from the PCB, this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule.
“ICC tournaments are built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness, and selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions.
“While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan.
“The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of.
“The ICC's priority remains the successful delivery of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which should also be the responsibility of all its members including the PCB. It expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.”
Background
It is difficult to precisely pinpoint where the issue really started. The problems between India and Pakistan are as old as the countries themselves.
Perhaps the most pertinent starting point for this particular controversy was India’s decision not to play in Pakistan when the latter hosted the Champions Trophy last year.
The Indians cited government security advice for deciding not to tour their neighbours. The ICC instead invoked a hybrid model for the competition, which saw India play all their matches in the UAE. Everyone else had to travel, and India ended up as champions.
Angered by the fact they had been forced to travel to India for the ODI World Cup in 2023, Pakistan then stated they would not be playing in India for the foreseeable future in response.
That meant the hybrid model again had to be invoked for the 2026 T20 World Cup, so matches involving Pakistan will be played in Sri Lanka instead.
While that was a workable solution at the time, the issue unravelled further due to worsening relations between Bangladesh and India.
Political tension between those two countries led Bangladesh to inform the ICC their government had suggested it was not safe for them to tour India. The ICC’s security advice was the opposite.
In response to the impasse, Bangladesh pulled out of the tournament, and were replaced by Scotland.
Pakistan, who were also angered by India’s decision not to shake hands when the sides met at the Asia Cup in the UAE last year, threatened to boycott in response to what they perceived as double standards and unequal treatment. Now they have been instructed to sit out the India game by their government.
Potential ramifications
Forfeits at cricket World Cups are not unprecedented. In the 1996 ODI World Cup, for example, Australia and West Indies opted out of their group matches in Sri Lanka.
The country was in the throes of civil war, and a bomb blast had struck Colombo in the lead-up to the tournament, leaving the two sides unwilling to travel.
In 2003, England refused to play against Zimbabwe, and New Zealand opted out of a game in Kenya on security grounds.
From a sporting perspective, those situations were simply resolved: points were given to the other team.
The playing conditions for recent ICC T20 events state the result will count as a loss for the forfeiting team. Pakistan will also have a heavy run-rate penalty because of the walkover, which could affect them in a tie-breaker situation at the end of the group.
Given they are boycotting the biggest fixture in the game, though, might the ICC deal out a greater sanction? It feels certain the PCB would be hit with a heavy financial penalty, at the very least, due to the revenue losses their action would lead to.
There is also another potential ramification to the decision: if Pakistan and India did make it through to the final, would they opt out again, and thus forfeit the title to their great rivals?
That would further erode the “sanctity” of the competition which the ICC espouse. If that is even possible, might the ICC consider expelling Pakistan from the competition altogether?
