According to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, the only reason Pakistan chose to abstain from their T20 World Cup match against India was to show “respect” for Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in India due to security concerns resulted in their elimination from the World Cup.
The Pakistani authorities announced earlier this month that its national squad would not play India in their T20 World Cup group match on February 15 in Colombo. However, the Pakistani government retracted the boycott order on Monday following discussions with the International Cricket Council, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and the PCB.
“We did not discuss anything apart from Bangladesh, our only purpose was to get Bangladesh respect, to highlight the injustice done to them. And you saw that whatever demands Bangladesh made, they were accepted. That’s it,” PTI quoted Naqvi as saying on Tuesday.
“We had no personal interest in the meeting … our task was purely related to Bangladesh. The government made the decision on that (basis). When their demands have been accepted, and it has been acknowledged that injustice was done to them, we are playing after that,” he added.
Naqvi met with ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja and his Bangladeshi counterpart Aminul Islam in Lahore on Sunday in an attempt to end the impasse over Pakistan’s planned boycott of the T20 World Cup match against India.
“In view of the outcomes achieved in multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15, 2026, for its scheduled fixture in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the Pakistan government stated in a press release on Monday.
“…this decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the spirit of cricket, and to support the continuity of this global sport in all participating nations,” the statement from Pakistan government added.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the president of Sri Lanka, also called Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and requested him to let the squad play.
