Shehbaz Sharif Mohsin Naqvi Jay Shah. Image Credits: X
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has shut down all rumours circling around IND vs PAK match fate at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Shehbaz Sharif has not only doubled down on Mohsin Naqvi's stance but also revealed the reason behind the boycott.
It is worth noting that the Pakistan government, on February 1, announced the country's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup match against India, scheduled for February 15 in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan government took a defining stance
"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," stated the Government of Pakistan tweet.
As soon as the news spread like wildfire, the International Cricket Council led by Jay Shah, released a statement, mentioning that the Pakistan Cricket Board had not written to the ICC on this matter and warned Pakistan of dampening consequences if the stance isn't changed.
"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," the ICC said in an official press release.
"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."
"The ICC's priority remains the successful delivery of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup which should also be the responsibility of all its members including the PCB. It expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders," the ICC statement concluded.
Speculation market arose after IND vs PAK boycott at T20 World Cup 2026
While the Government of Pakistan announced their decision to boycott India match at T20 World Cup, they did not announce a formal reason behind the same.
The entire fiasco had started with PCB taking a moral stand in Bangladesh's favour but Pakistan government never mentioned the actual reason while announcing the move.
This led to the speculative market giving wind to all sorts of permutations and combinations behind Pakistan's decision and ICC's possible actions. Some reports even went on to suggest that Pakistan can be banned from the international cricketing circuit.
While some former cricketers and analysts linked Pakistan's steps in accordance with what happened with Bangladesh being replaced, some felt it could also be a step because of Balochistan's disturbances in Pakistan.
ICC, and PCB head to a mutual patchup
It is worth noting that ICC's current functioning and cricket's overall growth is directly proportional to the money being fuelled by the broadcaster.
As soon as the India vs Pakistan boycott news broke out, the broadcaster would have been the most bummed party as they have invested heavily into the current ICC Media Rights Cycle from 2023-2027, out of which a huge amount of money is made every year through the IND vs PAK matches.
As per multiple accounts, the value of each India and Pakistan match in the current cycle is between $250 million-$400 million US dollars. Witnessing the severity of the value attached, the International Cricket Council had to appoint Singapore-based administrator Imran Khwaja to douse the fire.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif finally releases Behind The Scenes
On Thursday, February 5, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif finally revealed the reason behind the boycott stance against India at T20 World Cup 2026.
Speaking to the media, Shehbaz Sharif stated, "In regards to the T20 World Cup, we have taken a valid stance that we won't play against India. This is because Pakistan believes cricket shouldn't be mixed with politics."
"We have taken this stand after careful consideration and I believe this is the right time to stand alongside Bangladesh. I feel this is a very correct and thoughtful stance," Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif concluded.
What next for ICC?
While speculations were rife around reasons behind Pakistan's move and possible ICC actions, one set of discussions were also around can ICC achieve a common middle-ground for all parties involved in the entire fiasco.
Imran Khwaja's appointment felt like a move in the same direction. However, with Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's latest statement, it seems as if the door has been shut on ICC's face as far as negotiations with the Pakistan Cricket Board is concerned.
This brings us to a valid question, "What can the ICC do next?" Considering the ramifications for the broadcaster in the current scenario, the ICC can impose a list of penalties on Pakistan Cricket. These include but are not limited to:
- Banning Pakistan from T20 World Cup 2026
- Taking away Pakistan's hosting rights for future ICC events
- Freezing PCB's revenue share from the ICC annual share
- Suspending foreign players' NOC for PSL
- Compelling the PCB to compensate for the broadcaster's loss
While the ICC can impose a list of sanctions on Pakistan cricket, the game's reputation has already been shred to pieces with all that has happened in the recent past. Cricket's dream of becoming a global sport seems a far-fetched reality for now.
Irony died a thousand times
While Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif states politics behind Pakistan's recent revolt against ICC, he himself forgets Pakistan cricket's position in the entire scenario. The entire fuss, initially, never included Pakistan.
It all started soon after BCCI denied Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman an opportunity to feature in this year's IPL. Notably, Mustafizur Rahman was bought by KKR in IPL 2026 auction. However, with internal revolt in India against Bangladesh pacer for not criticising Hindu Minority persecution, the BCCI had to bail out.
In hindsight, the BCCI should never have allowed Bangladesh players to feature in the IPL auction given the current geopolitical tension between India and Bangladesh. As soon as BCCI's announcement came up, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) sprung into action.
The very next day, BCB wrote to the ICC, demanding a shift in their T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka. BCB stated that they do not feel comfortable about the safety of their players in India and hence, want to move their games away.
After BCB's apprehension, the ICC conducted a safety assessment for the Bangladesh contingent and got it done by an external agency too. The threat perception for Bangladesh in India turned out to be Low to Moderate, an acceptable norm for the ICC.
The BCB was communicated the same. However, after the BCB refused to budge down, the ICC called for a board meeting to resolve the impasse and 14 out of the 16 members voted in ICC's favor.
Here, enters, Pakistan Cricket Board, who along with BCB, was the only ICC board member to vote in favour of Bangladesh. On an issue, that didn't even bother Pakistan, and was limited between BCCI and BCB and later ICC and BCB, now became complex just because of PCB's stance.
ICC shouldn't be in any ways get punished for BCCI's actions against Mustafizur Rahman and this is what Pakistan failed to comprehend. The only reason Pakistan is currently going all out in favour of Bangladesh is because of the current Geopolitical shift across the Globe, specifically, in South Asia.
In such a scenario, Shehbaz Sharif saying, "Pakistan doesn't want politics in sports" is where Irony died a thousand times. Amidst all the theatrics, the fans continue to gobble popcorns while waiting for the next edition's release.
