Rashid believes the window for withdrawal from the competition has closed.
Uncertainty remains over Pakistan’s participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, slated to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
Ever since Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament for refusing to travel to India citing security concerns, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has indicated that they are considering several options and a final decision on whether they take part in the marquee event will be made by their government.
Amid the uncertainty, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif said that the window for withdrawal from the competition has closed and he now wants the PCB to boycott the scheduled Group A clash against arch-rivals on February 15 in Colombo.
“If the government says we won’t play against India, the ICC will have to accept it. If they don’t, that’s where the real confrontation begins,” Latif said on the YouTube channel CaughtBehind.
When asked what would happen if India and Pakistan meet in the final, Latif replied, “nahi khelenge’ (we won’t play (in that protest plan)”.
Rashid Latif believes that the PCB missed the chance to strike when the iron was hot, and now the time has passed to pullout of tournament.
“The time for a strike has passed. Every decision has a timing. When the iron is hot, that’s when you strike. That time was last week during the ICC meeting,” Latif stated.
“We showed our support. We voted for them. That chapter is over. If we boycott now, it won’t have the same impact,” he remarked.
Pakistan are slated to play all their T20 World Cup fixtures in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model agreement with the BCCI and ICC till 2027.
Meanwhile, a report suggests that the members of the Pakistani cricket team are set to depart together with the Australian team to Colombo for the marquee event. The two teams are set to play three T20Is in Lahore on January 29, January 31 and February 1.
“Despite the uncertainty over the participation in the World Cup, the Pakistan team is booked with the Australia team to fly out to Colombo via an Air Lanka flight from Lahore," Telecom Asia Sport quoted sources as saying.
“We hope that by Friday the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi will have cleared the team’s participation in the mega event," the source added.
“Naqvi also took advice from President Asif Zardari and from the military establishment before meeting two former PCB chairmen, Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, who were also in support of sending the team to Sri Lanka. They have also advised not to boycott the India game," the publication quoted sources as claiming.