Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi had a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday (January 26) afternoon to discuss the government's stand on T20 World Cup 2026 participation.

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

However, Naqvi committed an embarrassing gaffe while sharing the message on X, mistakenly naming former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif instead of the current PM, Shehbaz Sharif. He has now fixed the error.

During the meeting, according to news agency PTI, Shehbaz Sharif told Mohsin Naqvi that Pakistan should extend all possible support to Bangladesh, who were recently removed from the showpiece tournament, slated to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

The report added that the Prime Minister was briefed on multiple scenarios, including the possibility of Pakistan not sending its team for the T20 World Cup, or participating in the event but boycotting the high-stake fixture against India on February 15 in Colombo.

The PCB chairman had earlier said that the government would take the final call on Pakistan's participation in the competition in view of the evolving situation following Bangladesh's exit.

Bangladesh, who have been replaced by Scotland in the 20-team tournament, had requested to relocated their matches to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns in India. However, the ICC turned down the plea, saying no such verifiable threat existed.

Pakistan are scheduled to begin their T20 World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo, followed by matches against the USA (February 10), India (February 15) and Namibia (February 18).

Meanwhile, Pakistan named their 15-member squad on Sunday (January 25). Th squad features senior batter Babar Azam but sees the omission of pacer Haris Rauf. Salman Ali Agha will lead the side.