Mohsin Naqvi labelled hypocrite as PCB chief begs to other boards to support India boycott

Mohsin Naqvi speaks with SLC - (Source: AFP)

The T20 World Cup 2026 is just five days away, and the controversies are refusing to die down. Earlier, it was Bangladesh and the ICC who were at the opposite ends of a tug-of-war, but the focus has now shifted to Pakistan. 

After Bangladesh’s ouster from the T20 World Cup 2026, PCB faced the pressure to stick to its moral commitment. Notably, the Mohsin Naqvi-led board remarked that the government will make the final choice, and on February 1 evening, the Shehbaz Shariff government confirmed that the team has been cleared to play the T20 World Cup 2026 but will boycot the February 15 game against India.

The decision led to an uproar, and the ICC quickly took to Twitter to clarify that they are aware of the development, but the PCB has not officially written to Jay Shah confirming their decision.

PCB seek support from other board

In the latest events, PCB fear heavy sanctions from ICC, which can leave them financially crippled. Therefore, a report from Revsportz mentioned that the PCB indeed sought support from other board members, but found themself in a humiliating position after facing rejection from every call they made.

PCB is on a hunt to gather support to strengthen their boycott support, but the other boards reminded Mohsin Naqvi of his selective boycott. PCB should have the brains to be aware of such incident, because when the ICC had asked for a members voting regarding Bangladesh’s matter, 12 out of the 14 boards voted in favour of keeping the World Cup games in India. Only Bangladesh and Pakistan were in support of shifting the games to Sri Lanka.

Pakistan called out for selective boycott

Before the Asia Cup 2025, India were asked to boycott the match against Pakistan, and the reason was genuine because the two nations were on the verge of a war after Pakistan-based terrorists killed 26 people in Kashmir. Nonetheless, BCCI kept the respect of the sport and also valued the investors, insisting the Suryakumar Yadav-led side play Asia Cup.

Despite having genuine reasons to boycott, the Men in Blue played three games against Salman Agha’s men. However, in the recent events, the matter was between India and Bangladesh, which is when Pakistan decided to jump in, without having a valid reason, which is one of the reasons why the ICC is seriously considering heavy sanctions. 

Also, the PCB is doing a selective boycott because they already agreed on a hybrid model and will play their games in Sri Lanka. Further, on the same day, India A women will play Pakistan A women in the Emerging Asia Cup tournament in Bangkok, which points out Pakistan and PCB’s hypocrisy.

ICC await official communication from PCB

The T20 World Cup 2026 begins on February 8, and there were reports that the ICC will hold a meeting with the PCB on Tuesday or Wednesday. However, at present, the PCB has not officially communicated with the Jay Shah-led council regarding the matter.

For the unversed, ICC is planning several options to punish Pakistan and one of them is to hand them suspension from international cricket.