Pakistan to Boycott T20 World Cup Match Against India

Pakistan will boycott their scheduled match against India at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the Government of Pakistan announced on Friday via its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

In the statement, the government confirmed that it had granted approval for the Pakistan cricket team to travel to Sri Lanka to take part in the tournament, but made clear that the team would not play the fixture against India on February 15, 2026. No reason was provided for the decision.

“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 statement read.

The decision means the 2026 T20 World Cup is set to become the first men’s ICC tournament since 2010 not to feature an India–Pakistan clash. The fixture is traditionally the most commercially valuable match in any ICC event, and the two teams have been placed in the same group at every ICC tournament since 2012, despite not having played a bilateral series in 14 years due to strained diplomatic relations.

Pakistan’s participation in the tournament had been under a cloud in recent weeks. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had earlier suggested Pakistan could reconsider its involvement after Bangladesh were removed from the competition on January 24 for refusing to play in India over security concerns. Pakistan were the only nation to publicly back Bangladesh’s request for an alternative venue, and Naqvi accused the ICC of double standards favouring India following Bangladesh’s exclusion.

Naqvi subsequently met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and said the PCB had been advised to keep its options open, with a final decision expected by “Friday or next Monday”. A day before that informal deadline, the government’s announcement appears to have settled the matter.

Speculation had grown that Pakistan would avoid a full boycott of the tournament and instead target only the match against India. That view was strengthened after the PCB named a squad within the ICC’s deadline and briefly issued — before deleting — a statement suggesting the team would travel to Sri Lanka. ESPNcricinfo has contacted the PCB seeking clarification on the specific reasons behind the refusal to play India.

Pakistan have been drawn in Group A alongside India, Namibia, the Netherlands and the USA, with all their matches scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka, a co-host of the tournament along with India. Pakistan are due to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against the USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18.

By boycotting the India fixture, Pakistan will forfeit the two points from that match. Under the ICC’s Playing Conditions, the forfeiture will also negatively impact Pakistan’s net run rate, while India’s will remain unaffected. Clause 16.10.7 states that in the event of a forfeit, the defaulting team’s net run rate will be calculated as if it had faced the full 20 overs in the forfeited match.