Pakistan's jersey for T20 World Cup 2026 [Source: X]The cold war between India and Pakistan doesn't seem to end ahead of the T20 World Cup. Hours after boycotting the high-voltage match against arch-rivals India, Pakistan mocked India's sovereignty with a typical Kashmir reference in its T20 World Cup jersey. Sunday was quite eventful for both India and Pakistan as far as cricketing events are concerned. Both teams clashed in the under-19 World Cup, where India made a tremendous comeback, eliminating Pakistan from the tournament. While the PCB also launched Pakistan's T20 World Cup kit, the Pakistan government issued an official statement withdrawing from the group-stage match against India due to political reasons. Pakistan's subtle dig at India with Kashmir reference in T20 World Cup kitThe PCB has unveiled Pakistan's official T20 World Cup kit as the Men in Green gear up for the showpiece event, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan's kit for the T20 World Cup features a reference to Kashmir, with the Men in Green including a Markhor on their jersey. Although the Markhor is Pakistan's national animal, it's predominantly found in Pakistan's illegally occupied land that actually belongs to India. Markhor is a goat species that primarily inhabits Gilgit-Baltistan and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It's worth noting that Pakistan has never included the Markhor on its official jersey at any ICC event. So, the decision is controversial from a political standpoint, especially given the feud between the neighbouring countries since the barbaric Pahalgam terror attack. Although Pakistan administers POK and Gilgit-Baltistan, India has legal rights over the disputed geographical region. The Indian map explicitly shows these two regions as integral parts of the country, while Pakistan has occupied the land since the post-independence period. Therefore, the PCB's decision to keep Markhor in the official T20 World Cup kit is nothing but a dig at India's sovereignty, which Pakistan has repeatedly tried to breach through multiple wars since 1948.ICC planning to punish Pakistan with heavy sanctionsOn the other hand, the ICC remains at loggerheads with the PCB following the Pakistan government's decision to withdraw from the group stage encounter against India in the T20 World Cup. After the Pakistan government pulled out of the mega clash, the ICC issued an official statement, taking a strong stand against such a selective boycott. As per the latest update, the ICC will conduct a board meeting to decide its plan of action, with the PCB aiming to hit its revenue through an unforeseen and illogical pullout. If reports are to be believed, the ICC might ban Pakistan from the Asia Cup and cut the PCB's share of revenues if the Men in Green don't field their team against India in the T20 World Cup. The ICC might also prevent its member boards from issuing No Objection Certificates to their PSL-bound players in a bid to isolate Pakistan from world cricket. Placed in group A, Pakistan are originally scheduled to face the Netherlands, the United States, India and Namibia in the showpiece event, starting February 7.
