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Pakistan considers withdrawing from Men's T20 World Cup
The move follows a decision made earlier on Saturday by the ICC to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament
- PUBLISHED: Sat 24 Jan 2026, 7:22 PM UPDATED: Sat 24 Jan 2026, 7:26 PM
Pakistan's participation at the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup 2026 seems to be hanging in the balance as PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, was cited by espncricinfo.com as saying that a decision on the matter would be made after talking to Pakistan's government.
The comments follow a decision made earlier on Saturday by the ICC to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the World Cup 2026. The ICC's decision comes after three weeks of talks between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the ICC over Bangladesh's refusal to send its team to India for the marquee tournament due to security concerns.
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Speaking shortly after the decision was announced, Naqvi accused the ICC of "double standards" favouring India, and termed what happened to Bangladesh "an injustice".
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"The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I'll be able to give you our final decision. It's the government's decision. We obey them, not the ICC," he added.
Pakistan has firmly thrown its support behind Bangladesh in their dispute with the ICC, demanding a venue outside of India to play their T20 World Cup matches.
Pakistan will play all of its games in Sri Lanka after a deal struck with the BCCI and the ICC before the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Pakistani team is scheduled to play the opening game of the tournament against the Netherlands on February 7.
