Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi was seen saving face when he was confronted about Pakistan’s U-turn over playing the T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. Pakistan is set to play against India in their T20 World Cup group match on 15 February in Colombo.
Pakistan's leadership had already prevented its squad from playing against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, which had been disqualified from the competition by the International Cricket Council.
However, the U-turn was made public on Monday after a series of negotiations involving Pakistan, Bangladesh, the ICC, and boards from other countries, including the UAE and Sri Lanka.
The ICC released a statement about this matter and revealed that Bangladesh will not be penalized for missing the T20 World Cup 2026 and will receive compensation as well. They will also host an ICC event in 2028 before the 2031 ICC World Cup.
Immediately before the official declaration, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi appeared at a Pakistan Super League (PSL) press conference and was questioned about the "boycott" attitude.
Following the press briefing, Naqvi was challenged by an interviewer who wanted "inside details" regarding Pakistan's position. Naqvi then all but confirmed the impending U-turn.
Here is the conversation:
Mohsin Naqvi: "Bas ab thodi der mein faisla ho jayega." (A decision will be made in just a little while.)"
Interviewer: "Acchi khabar aa rahi hai? (Is good news on the way?)”
Mohsin Naqvi: "Hum to har waqt acchi khabar hi dete hain. (We always provide good news.)”
Mohsin Naqvi: Aapne Bangladesh ki statement dekhi hogi. Bangladesh ne request ki hai Pakistan se ki hum match khelein. Definitely, unka saara maamla tay hua hai, tabhi unhone ye request ki hai. (You must have seen Bangladesh's statement. Bangladesh has requested that Pakistan play the match. Clearly, their issues have been resolved; that is why they made this request.)”
Interviewer: "Hamne apni kuch baat manwayi hai unse? (Did we get them to agree to any of our own terms?)”
Mohsin Naqvi: "Hamne Bangladesh ke liye stand liya tha. Unhi ki baat thi. Hamne apne liye kuch nahi kiya. (We took a stand for Bangladesh. It was their matter. We didn't do anything for ourselves.)”
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The ICC also issued a release after the weeks-long drama officially came to an end. In the statement, the sport's top governing body said: "In that prevailing spirit, it was agreed that all members will respect their commitments as per the terms of participation for ICC events and do all that is necessary to ensure that the ongoing edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a success."
It was also understood that the ICC rejected a total of three demands made by the PCB, one of which was the resumption of a bilateral series against India.
