The federal government on Sunday allowed the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the Men’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 but barred the Green Shirt from playing the February 15 match against India.
The development came following a meeting between Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the federal capital.
Sources familiar with the matter told Geo News that the ICC’s biased treatment of Bangladesh was the main reason behind the decision.
Tensions flared between the cricket boards of Bangladesh and India after Bangladesh’s star pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the directions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), sparking outrage in Dhaka.
Later, the BCB requested the ICC to shift their matches outside India, but the international cricket body rejected the plea. In view of BCB’s firm stance, the ICC replaced them with Scotland in the showpiece event, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the tournament.
Referring to the government of Pakistan’s decision, the sources said that the decision aimed at expressing solidarity with Bangladesh.
“The Pakistan team has been instructed not to play the February 15 match against India as a protest,” the sources added.
India’s Jay Shah, who was elected unopposed as chairman of the sport’s world body in August 2024, has turned the ICC into “Indian Cricket Council” with his biased decision, said the sources.
“The principles of justice and equality have been shattered by biased decisions,” the government sources said, adding that double standards were being adopted while making decisions from the ICC platform.
In view of the prevailing situation, it was necessary to register the protest, the government sources added.
