T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan take shock decision to boycott India match, will play rest of the tournament

T20 World Cup: In a massive development, Pakistan have decided to participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup, but will boycott the match against India, scheduled to take place on February 15.The decision has been taken by the government of Pakistan after the International Cricket Council removed Bangladesh from the tournament after they denied playing in India over security concerns."The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026," the government said in a post on X."...however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India."For the unaware, the Pakistan Cricket Board had backed Bangladesh's request to shift their T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka from India. BCB cited security concerns as the reason behind the ask, but the ICC declined the request, stating that there is no credible threat in playing the World Cup in India. The governing council also brought forward that it would be complex to change the schedule of the World Cup at this point in time. However, the BCB stayed firm over its stance. In the end, the ICC excluded Bangladesh from the World Cup, bringing Scotland as the replacement.PCB was not pleased with Bangladesh's removal from the World Cup, and subsequently conveyed the possibility of pulling out of the competition in solidarity with Bangladesh. The PCB chairman in the follow-up conveyed that it will announce its final decision on whether to play the T20 World Cup on Friday or on Monday. No statement has been issued from their end yet. However, the government's decision would be final, and its official statement will likely be identical to that of the one released by the government on Sunday.What's next in store?With Pakistan making its stand clear, it will be interesting to see how the ICC will address this decision. It goes without saying that an India vs Pakistan match draws massive attention, which is seemingly the reason why they are always placed in the same group. If Pakistan decide to sit out against India, then it will be a huge revenue loss for the board. ICC cannot force Pakistan to feature in the match, but a punishment could be levied in the form of forfeiture of points.