PCB’s Mohsin Naqvi once claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board would support BCB to such an extent that if the ICC failed to resolve the issue of Bangladesh’s ICC T20 World Cup matches in India, Pakistan would also withdraw from the competition. However, plans appear to change over time.
The BCB is caught in a dilemma between its stance of refusing to travel to India and the ICC’s ultimatum of not making any changes to the schedule. The fiasco, which started on January 4 following BCCI’s inexplicable ignoring of Mustafizur Rahman, has been escalating for over 3 weeks.
On the other hand, BCB had also cited security complications as the main reason for Bangladesh abandoning plans to tour India; However, the ICC assessed the threat level as ‘zero to negligible’.
Pakistan issues major update on ICC T20 World Cup participation; Mohsin Naqvi distanced himself from BCB
Earlier, Pakistan news outlet Geo News had reported that BCB has approached the PCB and Mohsin Naqvi for diplomatic support, and since both the countries are currently against the BCCI, they could ally amid this dispute.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi had extended a hand of friendship towards BCB and since then there were speculations that Pakistan has put preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup on hold as they are considering pulling out of the tournament if the issue with Bangladesh remains unresolved.
According to the latest reports from RevSportz, Pakistan have made it clear that they will not boycott the tournament even if Bangladesh chooses to withdraw from the top-level tournament in the shortest format of the game. “No, this is not the PCB’s stance,” one of the PCB sources revealed to Hindustan Times.
The source said, “Pakistan has no basis for doing so, as the ICC will point out that Pakistan is already playing its matches in Sri Lanka. People say such things to inflame the issue.”
Despite ICC’s ultimatum on ban from T20 World Cup, BCB refused to retreat even an inch
Notably, all of Pakistan’s matches are scheduled in Sri Lanka, and hence they cannot give any reason to create a fresh controversy by rejecting the idea of ​​participating in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Therefore, the PCB has no grounds to withdraw from the competition.
The BCB had given several options to the ICC after the international body suggested that the change in venue and groups could create logistical challenges which would be difficult to deal with. The BCB then sought a group swap with Ireland, whose matches are all scheduled in Sri Lanka, but this was also turned down by the ICC.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the ICC issued an ultimatum to the BCB and asked them to reconsider their decision and take a final decision by January 21. However, the BCB has denied any such ultimatum and still stands by its stance of not playing matches in India.
Mohsin Naqvi’s support has pushed BCB to such an audacious level that they have dared to ignore the ICC decision, and they may have to pay a heavy price for it. If Bangladesh decides not to travel to India, the ICC has started considering the idea of ​​replacing them with the highest-ranked ineligible team.
Bangladesh’s stubbornness could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Scotland, the highest-ranked ineligible team in this World Cup. If they withdraw they will be given Bangladesh’s place in Group B.
Also Read: Mike Hesson personally drops Haris Rauf from Pakistan T20 World Cup squad – Tilak Verma is the reason!!
