Mitchell Marsh (L) and Mohsin Naqvi (R) (Source: AFP)
Australian skipper, Mitchell Marsh, was questioned by a Pakistani reporter on Pakistan’s recent call to boycott the T20 World Cup 2026 game against India. However, the Aussie skipper came up with a response which did not fall in line with what looks to be controversial, gunning down the intentions of the Pakistani reporter.
Notably, in a shocking piece of news for the cricket fans, the Pakistan government announced the boycott of the game against India on Sunday. The Pakistan establishment made this announcement officially from the government’s official X handle.
“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026. However, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February, 2026, against India,” read the X-post shared from the Pakistan government’s X handle.
Pakistan Government's X-post (Souece: Screengrab/X)
Here’s what unfolded between Mitchell Marsh and Pakistani journalist
Meanwhile, the Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh was addressing a press conference after his side lost against Pakistan in the third and last T20I of the three-match series.
In a series of questions, a Pakistani reporter came up with a question to Marsh, asking the latter's stance on Pakistan’s call to boycott the game against India in the T20 World Cup.
“Pakistan is going to boycott the Pakistan-India match, so what’s your point of view if you want to say something about this,” asked the reporter. Mitchell Marsh avoided offering any answer that could be construed as toeing the Pakistan reporter's vilified intentions to create controversy.
“I don’t have any comment about that at this point of time, we are going to the world cup, so just focussing on what we’re doing, let’s take care of ourselves,” said Mitchell Marsh in response to a reporter's question.
In the same vein, the Pakistani reporter didn’t stop there; he continued to ask Mitchell Marsh about Bangladesh's ouster from the tournament.
However, the visiting skipper kept his calm and said, “same response which I previously said,” bombing down the controversial intentions of the journalist.
ICC warns PCB of the repercussions after ‘Boycott’ call
Speaking of the ‘Pakistan boycott the game against India’ controversy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has responded to the Pakistan government’s stance and officially called out their choice of ‘selective participation in the tournament’.
“The ICC notes the statement that the government of Pakistan has made regarding the decision to instruct its national team to selectively participate in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026,” said the ICC in an official statement a few hours after the Pakistan government’s X-post, announcing the boycott of the fixture against India.
Furthermore, the apex cricket governing body also made it clear that they have yet to receive any official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule,” said the ICC.
They also warned the PCB of the repercussions they could face for boycotting a game in the prestigious cricket biennial.
“The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of,” it added later.
Amidst the entire controversy, all the stakeholders of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 are waiting for PCB’s official stance after their government’s decision.
