The Government of Pakistan on Sunday (February 1) announced that its men’s team would travel to Sri Lanka for T20 World Cup 2026 but would not take the field against India on February 15. No official reason has been provided for this move.

Subsequently, the ICC issued a formal statement, citing that selective participation will not be allowed and asked Pakistan to rethink its decision.

Amid the recent development, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Monday (February 2) said it fully agrees with the ICC’s stance following Pakistan’s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup group-stage match against India.

Shukla further stated that the Indian board would refrain from making further comments until it holds formal discussions with the apex body.

“ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC,” Shukla told reporters.

Pakistan’s ‘boycott’ move comes 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 global governing 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.

Pakistan are in Group A alongside India, Namibia, Netherlands, and USA, with all their matches scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.

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.

Clause 16.10.7 states that in the event of a forfeit, "the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team's innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition."