PCB Casts Doubt Over T20 World Cup Participation After Bangladesh Exclusion, Leaves Call to Pakistan Government

New Delhi, January 24: Pakistan's participation in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 has been thrown into uncertainty after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the final call

will be taken by the country's government, not the cricket board, in the wake of Bangladesh's exclusion from the tournament.

The development comes after the International Cricket Council (ICC) pushed Bangladesh out of the T20 World Cup for refusing to travel to India, replacing them with Scotland.

Pakistan, reportedly, was the only ICC member to vote in favour of Bangladesh at the ICC Board meeting, where a 14-2 majority ruled that the Bangladeshi team must travel to India for their scheduled matches.

Reacting strongly to the decision, Naqvi - who also serves as Pakistan's Interior Minister - criticised the ICC for what he termed unequal treatment of full-member nations.

"Bangladesh has been treated unfairly. You cannot have double standards where one country's situation is handled differently from another's," Naqvi said, questioning the ICC's consistency in handling geopolitical concerns.

Naqvi went a step further by suggesting that Pakistan's own participation in the World Cup is now a political decision, beyond the PCB's control. "Our stance on the World Cup will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me. The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. Once he returns, we will give our final decision. It's the government's decision - we obey them, not the ICC," he said.

Pakistan, as in previous ICC tournaments hosted by India, was already expected to play its matches in Sri Lanka, a hybrid arrangement accepted by the ICC due to longstanding bilateral tensions. Despite this concession, Naqvi's comments indicate that Pakistan could still reconsider its participation in solidarity with Bangladesh.

If Pakistan were to withdraw, the PCB would forfeit the USD 500,000 participation fee allotted to each team. While this sum is modest compared to the board's overall finances, a pull-out would carry significant political and sporting ramifications for the global tournament.

The PCB's stance has added another layer of uncertainty to the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7. With Bangladesh already out and Scotland drafted in as a replacement, the ICC now faces the prospect of another major disruption should Pakistan follow through on its warning.

Senior ICC officials, including chairman Jay Shah, were in Dubai on Friday as the situation unfolded, highlighting the seriousness of the impasse. For now, the cricketing world awaits clarity from Islamabad, with Pakistan's decision likely to hinge on broader diplomatic considerations rather than purely sporting ones.