Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday (January 26) to discuss the government's stand on T20 World Cup 2026 participation after Bangladesh’s ouster from the tournament.

Following the meeting, Naqvi confirmed through social media that a final call is expected on either Friday (January 30) or Monday (February 2).

For the unversed, the ICC announced the decision to remove Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup last Saturday (January 24) after the BCB refused to travel to India.

Earlier this month, the BCB requested the ICC to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns in India. The apprehensions came 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 citing 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 event.

According to reports, PCB is considering protesting the ICC’s decision on Bangladesh’s ouster, including the possibility of forfeiting its high-stake fixture against India on February 15 or withdrawing from the competition altogether.

Amid the ongoing saga, veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane has claimed that Pakistan will not boycott the T20 World Cup as they “don’t have the guts" to do so.

“I don’t think they will do it. They don’t have the guts," Rahane said on Cricbuzz.

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.