India-Pakistan boycott verdict expected within ’24 hours’ after T20 World Cup meeting in Lahore – Report
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Pakistan government on February 1 had announced that the Men in Green would not take the field against India on February 15.
In a major development, a breakthrough in the contentious fixture between India and Pakistan is expected to arrive soon. The fresh development comes after a meeting between the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in Lahore on Sunday.
As reported by Pakistan’s Geo TV, the PCB is set to consult the government on the subject and a formal announcement can be expected withing “24 hours”. This was reported on February 8, hence all uncertainties around the fixture is expected to end on Monday.
An ICC delegation, led by Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, and BCB President Aminul Islam, met in Lahore on Sunday to discuss Pakistan’s decision to boycott the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against India, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. Visuals of the meeting was shared by PCB on its official social media channels.
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Pakistan government on February 1 had announced that the Men in Green would not take the field against India on February 15, and later Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif linked the decision in support of Bangladesh, who were earlier replaced by Scotland in the showpiece event, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The decision by ICC was taken after they rejected Bangladesh’s request to have all their matches be played outside India citing security concern. All this triggered after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released pacer Mustafizur Rahman on BCCI’s directive, a move announced amid concerns related to atrocities against minorities. particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the ICC is understood to have asked the PCB to demonstrate what it had done to mitigate the ‘Force Majeure’ event, as it is needed by the Members Participation Agreement (MPA). Notably, the ICC received an email from the PCB citing government orders as the reason for its controversial boycott, which came less than 10 days before the start of the tournament, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.
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Also, ICC is believed to have conditions in detail under which ‘Force Majeure’ clause can be invoked legitimately, and the evidentiary threshold needed for non-participation in the tournament, sporting, commercial, and governance implications of such a step.
ICC informed PCB of the potential material damage the former could incur if the match does not go ahead. The global governing body does not want any confrontation, but under their constitution, they are allowed to go ahead with suspension/termination of a membership if there is a massive breach of obligations supposed to be fulfilled.
PCB also believes that if the matter becomes contentious, they have a strong case because there is a reference to an old PCB-BCCI dispute that reached the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) regarding a bilateral series. It was about BCCI allegedly failing to honour a 2014 MoU between the two boards to play six bilateral series between 2013 and 2015. PCB lost their claim for damages but believes the Indian government’s refusal to grant BCCI permission to proceed with the series sets a precedent for them, the report by ESPNCricinfo added.
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