PAKISTAN TO BOYCOTT FIXTURE AGAINST INDIA

In the T20 World Cup this month, Pakistan will not play against India. Following Bangladesh's elimination from the competition for declining to play their matches in India due to political unrest and security concerns, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi stated last week that the squad may withdraw entirely.

Naqvi, who accused the ICC of favouring India and using unfair criteria, stated that the government would be consulted before making a final decision. Pakistan will participate in the game, but they will not play India on Sunday, February 15, as planned in Colombo; instead, they will forfeit the two points that would have been awarded for a win.

According to ICC playing standards, the forfeiture will affect Pakistan's net run-rate but not India's. "The government... grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026," the Pakistani government wrote in a post on X on Sunday. "However, the Pakistani cricket team will not play against India on February 15, 2026.

The Netherlands (February 7), the USA (February 10), and Namibia (February 18) will be Pakistan's next Group A opponents. Pakistan won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and finished second thrice. Since the World Cup is by far the most popular and profitable match in international cricket, the ICC makes sure that India and Pakistan are always in the same group.

Due to political concerns, India has not played in Pakistan since 2008, and Pakistan and India have not met outside of significant events since 2013. Even if Pakistan advances to the semifinals and/or final, all of their T20 World Cup matches will take place in Sri Lanka. Scotland, the next best-ranked team that hasn't yet earned a spot in the World Cup, took Bangladesh's position. The European country now sits in Group C alongside England, the West Indies, Nepal, and newcomers Italy.