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 ICC also issued a formal statement and mentioned that selective participation will not be allowed and asked Pakistan to rethink its decision.

Pakistan’s decision followed the ICC’s removal of Bangladesh from the 20-tournament after BCB refused to play in India over security concerns. Bangladesh remained firm on its stance of not playing on Indian soil, leading the apex body to replace them with Scotland.

Hours after Pakistan confirmed the decision of boycotting the India game at T20 World Cup, a reporter sought Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh’s views on this matter.

The Australian team was in Pakistan for a three-match T20I series. After the culmination of the series on Sunday, Marsh was asked some unexpected questions in the press conference.

The Pakistani reporter asked Marsh two questions - Pakistan's decision to forfeit the India match and Bangladesh's ouster from the T20 World Cup. However, the Australian captain chose to maintain distance from the controversial topic.

Here's how the conversation unfolded:

Reporter: “Just came to know about the Pakistan-India match on the 15th February. You know, Pakistan is going to boycott the Pakistan-India match. So, your point of view, if you want to add some words about this.”

Mitchell Marsh: “Yeah, I don't really have a comment on that at this point in time. You know, we're going to the World Cup to just focus on what we're doing, and we'll let that stuff take care of itself.”

Reporter: “Also, ICC full member Bangladesh is not going to participate in this World Cup due to security concerns. As a player, how do you feel that an ICC full member is not going to participate in this World Cup?”

Mitchell Marsh: “Yeah, I think the same goes for my previous answer, that we're going to the World Cup to try and win it, and we're solely focused on that. And as the Australian team, we trust the people who are in place to keep us safe, and that's all I'll say. Yeah."