Mohsin Naqvi allows Pakistan Women A team to play against India [Source: X]Amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, fuelling the T20 World Cup 2026 boycott controversy, both countries are set to meet in an A-level international match in the Women’s Rising Stars Asia Cup in Bangkok on February 15. Ironically, it is the same day when Pakistan has taken a firm stance on not playing against India in the World Cup, while also being in a tussle with the International Cricket Council. For the unaware, the Pakistan Cricket Board has officially denied the India boycott for February 15 through the Pakistan government’s social media handle. Pakistan Women ‘A’ team to play India amid boycott calls The surprising match between India Women A and Pakistan Women A is, however, set to go ahead on February 15. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the women’s A-team squad on February 1 and later confirmed in a press release that they were placed in the same group as India. The release also stated that the match would take place on February 15 at 12:30 p.m. IST. Pakistan A are placed in Group A alongside India A, UAE, and Nepal, while Group B consists of Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Malaysia, and Thailand. As per the tournament format, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals after playing three matches each. What makes the situation more striking is that this statement was released on the same day the senior men’s team was instructed not to take the field against India in Colombo. Pakistan Women’s ‘A’ team yet to receive instructions In contrast, according to ESPNcricinfo, the Pakistan Women’s A team has not received any instruction to avoid playing India A, and their preparations for the tournament are continuing as normal. For context, the Women’s Rising Stars Asia Cup is organised by the Asian Cricket Council, which is headed by PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi. This suggests that the partial boycott may be largely optical, as the highest viewership and interest remain centred on senior men’s cricket. ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi behind India boycott Significantly, Mohsin Naqvi, who also holds an influential position in the Pakistan government, has been central to the chain of events that led to Pakistan’s boycott demand against India in the T20 World Cup 2026. Naqvi announced that Pakistan would refuse to play India after Bangladesh was ousted from the competition, calling it an injustice by the ICC. He met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before the government made the final call to forfeit the group-stage match through a social media post. Pakistan opt for selective boycott?Despite the boycott calls that floated since January, the India Under-19 and Pakistan Under-19 teams played their Super Sixes Group 2 match on February 1, 2026, in the Under-19 World Cup, where India won by 58 runs to seal a semi-final spot against Afghanistan. Reversing the narrative, as things stand now, it appears that Pakistan is not only opting for selective participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 but is also practising selective boycott across different divisions of cricket, while formats such as Under-19 and women’s cricket continue uninterrupted fixtures against India.
