The International Cricket Council (ICC) is in a state of confusion at the moment, thanks to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Even though there has been no clear confirmation yet about Pakistan playing in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the team is making full preparations to leave for Colombo.
Pakistan ready to take off with Australia for T20 World Cup 2026
As per the current plan, the Pakistan national cricket team will take off from Lahore on the same flight with the Australian cricket team on Monday, February 1.
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Awaiting final call from PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi
A final decision by PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is expected by the time of the departure of the Men in Blue. This decision will finally clear whether Pakistan will participate in the T20 World Cup 2026 or not.
“Despite the uncertainty over World Cup participation, the Pakistan team has been booked to fly to Colombo with the Australian team via Air Lanka from Lahore. We are hopeful that by Friday, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi will have approved the team’s participation in the mega event,” Telecom Asia Sport quoted sources as saying.
Pakistan’s drama has started due to Bangladesh dispute
The whole drama started when Pakistan supported Bangladesh. Recently, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had asked to shift its matches from India to Sri Lanka due to security concerns, after which ICC removed Bangladesh from T20 World Cup 2026.
The ICC rejected this request even after conducting its own security investigation and providing security assurances. Bangladesh stuck to their stand and refused to play in India, due to which they were eliminated from the tournament. Later, Scotland were included in the tournament as their replacement.
The PCB then decided to stand by the BCB, and this cast doubt on their participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. Mohsin Naqvi has openly said that the Pakistan government will take the decision.
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High level talks within Pakistan regarding T20 World Cup 2026
Since then many high level meetings have taken place. Naqvi met Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad to seek advice. The Prime Minister supported Pakistan’s stance in supporting Bangladesh, but clearly advised against boycotting the World Cup, as it could cause huge financial losses to Pakistan cricket.
Sources revealed that Naqvi also discussed the matter with President Asif Ali Zardari and senior military officials. After this he talked to former PCB chief Najam Sethi and Rameez Raja. They all shared the same view that Pakistan should go ahead and “play the T20 World Cup 2026” and “advised not to boycott” India’s game.
Even when there is doubt, the Pakistani camp remains ready to take flight
Amidst all this confusion, the team’s preparations are going on normally. Before the global event, Pakistan also has to play a three-match T20 series against Australia in Lahore from Thursday, January 29. And the players have been asked to be positive and prepared for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Sources said, “All players have been instructed to be positive about participating in the World Cup. Some players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have brought all their belongings from home anticipating that they will be out of the country for more than a month.”