BCCI issues statement on Pakistan’s boycott from T20 World Cup

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued a strong statement on Pakistan’s decision to boycott ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches against India.

The Board has stated that they completely agree with the ICC’s decision regarding the Pakistani government’s announcement on T20 World Cup 2026.

Earlier, ICC slammed Pakistan for its selective participation in matches and said that it goes against the spirit of a global sporting event. ICC said that the Pakistan Government’s decision does not align with the game and the interests of the fans. Moreover, ICC also warned PCB about the consequences the cricket team might face in the long run over this decision.

BCCI has made it clear that Team India will strictly follow International Cricket Council (ICC) protocols despite Pakistan’s decision to boycott their ICC Men’s T20 World

Cup 2026 group-stage match against India, scheduled for February 15 in Sri Lanka.

According to the sources, the Indian team will travel to Sri Lanka as planned, carry out all pre-match formalities, and wait for the match referee to take a final call on the fixture.

Team India will be travelling to Sri Lanka and will follow the ICC protocol. The team will practice as per the schedule, then they will do a press conference, and then reach the stadium on time and wait for the Board to call off the match, as mentioned by the sources.

Pakistan’s decision to boycott the high-voltage clash was confirmed by the Government of Pakistan through a post on X. The statement said that while approval has been granted to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the team “shall not take the field” against India on February 15.

As of now, no official reason has been cited by the Pakistan government for skipping the match. Pakistan announced its T20 World Cup squad last month for the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

India has entered the World Cup in strong form, recently defeating New Zealand 4-1 in a five-match T20I series. Historically, India dominated Pakistan in the ICC T20 World

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Cups, winning seven of the eight matches played between the two teams.

The boycott decision comes amid recent tensions involving tournament participation. Last month, ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the T20 World Cup after the

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to play matches in India, citing security concerns. After detailed security assessments and multiple rounds of discussions, the ICC found no credible threat and declined to alter the schedule. Bangladesh’s refusal to confirm participation within the stipulated deadline led to Scotland being named as the replacement team.

India, which is the defending champion, is placed in Group A along with Pakistan, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA. The Men in Blue will begin their campaign against the USA on February 7 and play their second match on February 12.

With the BCCI maintaining a firm stance on adherence to ICC rules, all eyes will now be on the match referee’s decision regarding the February 15 India-Pakistan fixture.

Here are the team members of both countries

Team India Squad (ICC T20 World Cup 2026):

Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan Squad (ICC T20 World Cup 2026):

Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (WK), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.

Also Read: Pakistan’s alternative plan if they boycott T20 World cup leaked, know details

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