Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has come out in support of Bangladesh and threatened to withdraw from the T20 World Cup 2026 if security concerns are not addressed.
This article throws light on the new turn that the India-Bangladesh dispute has taken with the entry of Pakistan.
Mohsin Naqvi weaponises India-Bangladesh dispute as Pakistan threatens to withdraw from T20 World Cup 2026
Case
Bangladesh has taken a tough stand regarding the change in the venue of its matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
It all started when Mustafizur Rahman’s name, which was selected by Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2026 player auction, was withdrawn following tensions between India and Bangladesh.
Since then, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has been strongly opposing this decision and has repeatedly refused to play its T20 World Cup matches in India.
The controversy has led to contradictory reports emerging every other day, including a possible swap of groups between Bangladesh and Ireland so that Bangladesh can play their matches in Sri Lanka.
However, according to a report by Cricbuzz, it was later clarified by Cricket Ireland that they have been assured that nothing like this will happen.
A Cricket Ireland official said, “We have received definite assurances that we will not deviate from the original schedule. We are definitely playing the group stage in Sri Lanka.”
pakistani angle
The chaos that seemed to be unraveling has been taken full advantage of by the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, who has now threatened to withdraw Pakistan’s participation from the multi-nation tournament if security concerns regarding Bangladesh are not resolved.
According to a report by Geo News, the Bangladesh government has approached Pakistan for support on this issue.
The move comes days after Pakistan Cricket Board formally announced to host Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches in Pakistan.
The report also said that the PCB is confident about hosting the matches, having successfully hosted the 2025 Champions Trophy, India’s matches will be held in Dubai and also the Women’s ODI World Cup qualifiers in the same year.
decision
The ICC is expected to take a decision on the dispute on Wednesday (January 21) with a possible change of venue within India.
An ICC delegation is currently in Bangladesh and exploring all possible options as the BCB still stands by its stand of playing its matches outside India.
One of the reasons the ICC is insisting that Bangladesh play its matches in India is because of the burden it would have to bear if cricket’s governing body decides to go ahead with the BCB’s request.
This would involve a lot of logistical restructuring which would not be possible for the International Cricket Council.
Furthermore, the ICC is also of the opinion that the risk assessment conducted by international security experts shows that there is no threat to Bangladesh if the team plays the 2026 T20 World Cup matches in India.
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