No official reason has been provided by Pakistan to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India.
The Government of Pakistan on Sunday (February 1) announced that its men’s team will be travelling to Sri Lanka for T20 World Cup 2026 but they will not be playing against India on February 15 in Colombo. No official reason has been provided for this move.
The decision came days after the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s plea to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka. BCB had cited ‘security concerns” for their players in India following heightened tensions between the two countries and the release of Mustafizur Rahman by IPL franchise KKR on BCCI’s instructions.
However, the apex body turned down the request, saying no such verifiable threat existed while also highlighting the logistical difficulty of altering the tournament schedule so close to the event. Bangladesh maintained their stance and were later replaced by Scotland in the 20-team tournament.
Reacting to Pakistan’s ‘boycott’ move, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh called it an “unnecessary drama to mislead people.”
“Begani Shadi mei abdullah deewana… Pakistan government has said that their team will participate in the T20 World Cup but will not play against India. There is absolutely no logic to this. This is the same Pakistan government and the same PCB that, after some time, will say that the dispute was actually Bangladesh's, the ICC imposed the ban, and we were ready to play and resolve the issue. This is nothing but a complete drama being created to mislead people. They are trying to project that we stand with Bangladesh,” Harbhajan said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
He added, “You may say you support Bangladesh, but what have you thought about the people in your own country who want an India-Pakistan match to happen? When the ICC voting took place on Bangladesh’s request, it was rejected by a 14–2 margin. Australia, England, South Africa and several other countries were part of that vote. So why are you unnecessarily picking a fight over this issue, and what exactly do you stand to gain from it?”
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.
Highlighting Pakistan’s double standards, Harbhajan remarked: “Fair enough, if you don’t want to come, then don’t. India also doesn’t go to your country — fair enough. But this match was at a neutral venue. Some time ago, during the Asia Cup, the match still took place because there was revenue involved. You were not willing to give that up.”
If the Men in Green fail to take the field against India on February 15, the match will be ruled a forfeit under ICC rules, resulting in an automatic loss of two points and a hit to their net run rate. Moreover, severe sanctions are likely to be imposed on PCB that could isolate Pakistan cricket.
“It’s possible sanctions are imposed on you, and it’s also possible that in the future you may not get the opportunity to host any ICC tournament. Let’s see whether you actually have the courage to stand by your decision, or whether this was just a shot in the dark,” Harbhajan concluded.