Pakistan have decided to forfeit Group A match against India at T20 World Cup 2026.
Pakistan have decided to forfeit the T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match against arch-rivals India on instructions of their government.
While the Pakistan government did not specify reason for making such a bold move, ICC has warned the PCB that it faces the prospect of legal action from T20 World Cup's official broadcasters JioStar for boycotting its February 15 game against India, news agency PTI reported.
According to the report, there is a possibility that the apex body will withhold the entire annual revenue share of Pakistan, which is around USD 35 million and pay the broadcasters from that purse.
A PCB source informed that although chairman Mohsin Naqvi had sought advice from the board's legal experts before briefing PM Shehbaz Sharif on the issue last week, the board is gearing up for some serious repercussions.
"If Pakistan doesn't relent and play against India, not only will they face financial penalties, perhaps a lawsuit from broadcasters but also any efforts to go to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) are likely to fail," PTI quoted a PCB source as saying.
ICC's DRC is an internal committee which doesn't hear appeals against the decisions made by its own board.
"The PCB might face problems regardless of their government directive to not play India as they are playing all their matches at a neutral venue (Sri Lanka) as per their wishes and not in India," another PCB source said.
"Secondly, while the Indian government has not given permission to its team to play in Pakistan, it has not stopped them from playing against Pakistan at neutral venues in Asia Cup or ICC events even after the May conflict," the board source added.
Pakistan’s boycott move is being seen as an act of solidarity with Bangladesh after their removal from the 20-tournament for refusing to travel to India citing 'security concerns'.
However, the ICC has made it clear that selective participation will not be allowed and asked Pakistan to reconsider their decision due to the long-term impact that it can have on cricket in the country.
"When the ICC signed its four year deal with the broadcaster for all ICC events, the contract included Pakistan and India matches based on which the broadcaster made the payments to the ICC," the source explained.
"So the broadcaster will be within its rights to take the PCB and ICC to court over a major breach of the contract."
(With PTI Inputs)