Sanctions, Fines or Ban? What Pakistan Face After India T20 World Cup Match Boycott

Pakistan will not play India in their scheduled Men’s T20 World Cup match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15, following the government’s conditional approval for the team to participate in the tournament.

“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,” said the government’s official account on ‘X’ account.

The statement did not specify a reason for the decision. However, it is believed that Pakistan will boycott the match against India to show solidarity with Bangladesh.

Bangladesh was ejected out of the Men’s T20 World

Cup for seeking relocation of their matches out of India, citing security concerns, and were replaced by Scotland in Group C.

Implications of Pakistan Not Playing India

The India-Pakistan clash is the most anticipated fixture of any ICC event, attracting peak global viewership, sponsorship interest, and broadcast revenues.

Boycotting this match is expected to create logistical and regulatory challenges for the ICC, which has centred much of the tournament’s scheduling, marketing, and commercial strategy around this marquee encounter.

The BCCI, Pakistan Cricket Board, and ICC have signed a tripartite agreement guaranteeing that all India-Pakistan matches in ICC events until 2027 will be played at neutral venues.

While a walkover would award full points to India, the ICC has the authority to impose financial penalties on the PCB.

The boycott could have serious consequences due to existing broadcast agreements. As per reports, the broadcaster may go to court and seek compensation from the ICC for the losses, and ICC may hand over the bill to Pakistan and may even ban the board from future tournaments — given the sums involved.

“If Pakistan also decides not to play the T20 World Cup, the ICC will impose a series of sanctions, including no bilateral series with any international team, no NOC for foreign players in PSL, and no Asia Cup participation,” an Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

Pakistan is scheduled to begin its campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against the USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. All matches will be played at the SSC ground in Colombo.

The current standoff is due to the ICC’s decision to remove Bangladesh from the tournament after it declined to accept security assurances for hosting matches in India and requested a complete shift of its fixtures to Sri Lanka.

The ICC rejected the request and replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, a move that triggered sharp reactions within Pakistan’s cricketing and political establishment. Several former Pakistan players and officials advised against making any decision that could harm the country’s cricket. However, neither the PCB nor the government has clarified what will happen if Pakistan and India clash in the knockout stages of the competition.

(With inputs from Agencies)