Mohsin Naqvi cornered in PCB, other Pakistan officials demand India boycott revoking

Mohsin Naqvi cornered in PCB [Source: @Djbhai01/x]

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems to be divided over the nation’s government stance of boycotting Team India at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. As per a report, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi continues to stand defiant and wants the Pakistan team to pull out of their Group A match against India.

However, several other PCB officials are still open to the idea of the blockbuster big-ticket match to go ahead as planned.

Pakistan government’s India boycott leading to a PCB civil war

As reported by NDTV, there seems to be a sense of infighting in the PCB, with chairman Mohsin Naqvi getting cornered by other board officials. While Naqvi is still standing with the Pakistan government’s decision of boycotting arch-rivals Team India at the T20 World Cup 2026, he has been urged to reconsider the decision by fellow members.

With less than a week remaining for the scheduled fixture, the PCB and the International Cricket Council (ICC) is already involved in some excessive back-channel talks for the last few days. It is worth noting that the ICC’s case has been led by deputy chairman and Singapore official Imran Khawaja.

In a recent meeting held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the ICC warned the PCB of “consequences” if the board failed to convince the Pakistan government of reversing their boycott stand against India.

As of now, it is fully up to Mohsin Naqvi to consult with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a bid to reverse the government’s decision.

Any form of India vs Pakistan boycott in the ongoing 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will result in massive financial losses for the ICC. Moreover, even Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has reportedly written to the PCB, and has warned them about facing significant losses with ticket-cancellations at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

Why did Pakistan government decided to boycott India?

Earlier this month, the Pakistan government confirmed its decision of boycotting Team India in their Group A match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. While the government made the announcement without any clarification, one can assume that the deteriorating geo-political tensions between India and Pakistan factored in the decision.

Amidst the deterring political ties and cross-border tensions, India and Pakistan’s cricketing relations got caught in the crossfire last year. Players from both sides even refused to interact with each other at the Asia Cup 2025 in the aftermath of Indian government’s retaliatory ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The Indian team even refused to collect the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from PCB chairman and ACC President Mohsin Naqvi for his controversial remarks against the Indian Army.

Impact of India boycott on Pakistan cricket team?

Any boycott on part of the Pakistan cricket team will concede the two match points on offer to Team India. Such a drastic move means that the ‘Men in Green’ will be required to win each of their remaining three Group A fixtures by any means necessary.

The Pakistan team already escaped with a narrow win over Netherlands in the opening match of the tournament this past weekend. Under the leadership of Salman Agha, they will now face the USA on February 10 in Colombo.