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Pakistan will forfeit two points if they don’t take the field for the game in Colombo.
Published On 1 Feb 2026
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Pakistan’s cricket team has been cleared to participate in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 but will not play its game against India, the government of Pakistan says.
“The Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India,” its statement said on Sunday.
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The statement did not mention why Pakistan would not play the group match.
Pakistan’s participation in the tournament was thrown into uncertainty after Bangladesh were ousted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over a logistical deadlock.
The ICC kicked Bangladesh out of the World Cup and replaced them with Scotland because of an impasse over security concerns that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had raised about playing in India.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) swiftly threw its weight behind Bangladesh and said it will not make a “final decision” this coming week on its team’s participation in the monthlong tournament, which begins on Saturday.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week to discuss the issue but did not clarify whether Pakistan would travel to the tournament.
“It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday,” Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, said.
All of Pakistan’s World Cup matches have been scheduled in Sri Lanka because of the fraught relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
After Bangladesh’s expulsion, the ICC was accused of practising “double standards” in its extraordinary move to oust a full member nation on the basis of a logistical deadlock.
“You can’t have double standards,” Naqvi said.
“You can’t say for one country [India] they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite. That’s why we’ve taken this stand and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup. They are a major stakeholder in cricket.”
The T20 World Cup, cohosted by India and Sri Lanka, features 20 nations.
Pakistan are drawn in Group A along with India, Namibia, the Netherlands and United States and are playing all their matches in Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s first match on Saturday is against the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
If Pakistan boycott their match against India, they will forfeit two points.
