The T20 World Cup row involving Pakistan and the International Cricket Council (ICC) continues to heat up. Ever since the Government of Pakistan announced that the senior men’s team won’t be allowed to take the field against India on February 15, there has been uncertainty surrounding the marquee Group A fixture. As Hindustan Times reported on Saturday, the back-channel talks are well and truly underway between the two parties. The PCB wrote to the ICC, invoking the Force Majeure clause to justify refusing to play against India, saying they cannot go against the Government’s diktat. On the other hand, the ICC asked the PCB to elaborate on its stance, stating that the clause cannot be applied in the current scenario.
According to Geo News, the ICC will hold an emergency virtual meeting to end the impasse surrounding the India versus Pakistan match on Sunday. However, a new twist has emerged after Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam arrived in Pakistan. It is worth noting that Pakistan is arguing that it has pulled out of the India match to show solidarity with Bangladesh after it was ousted from the tournament.
The same report stated that Aminul is expected to attend the ICC-PCB meeting. Other member boards are also expected to make their presence felt. Moreover, the BCB chief will also meet the PCB head Mohsin Naqvi before leaving for Dhaka.
On Saturday night, the PCB spokesperson, Amir Mir, denied reports that the PCB had approached the ICC to hold talks on the situation, saying time would tell “who actually went knocking.”
The India versus Pakistan contest is a major cash cow in global cricket, and if the fixture doesn’t go ahead as planned, then there would be major losses for all stakeholders, including the ICC and the official broadcasters.
PCB and BCB combine forces
The entire matter surrounding the T20 World Cup began after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad following an order issued by the BCCI. This caused a ripple effect, with the BCB demanding that the ICC relocate its matches from India to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.
Multiple emails were exchanged between the BCB and the ICC; however, no solution was found, leading to Bangladesh being eventually replaced by Scotland in Group C. When Bangladesh were shown the door, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi threatened to pull out of the World Cup, saying the ICC was “unfair” to Bangladesh.
Naqvi then met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif twice, and eventually, the Government of Pakistan announced that the team would indeed participate in the tournament but wouldn’t take the field against India.
Speaking of the T20 World Cup 2026, it began on Saturday and both India and Pakistan registered victories in their respective opening matches.
