Pakistan has decided to boycott its T20 World Cup 2026 group match against India to be played in Colombo on February 15. Forfeiting a match will result in a loss of only 2 significant points. If they drop 2 points, can Pakistan qualify for the next round of the tournament?
On Sunday, through a social media post, Pakistan informed about the government’s stand against its high-octane match with India. The Government of Pakistan suggested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to boycott the match.
Pakistan to boycott India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match
The Pakistan government wrote on its ‘X’ post, “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has approved the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026. However, the Pakistan cricket team will not take the field in the match against India on 15 February 2026.”
According to the official statement of the government, the Pakistan national team will participate in the tournament but will not take the field against India in February. That means a direct gift of 2 points to India. A loss of 2 points can prove fatal for the team in future.
Possible impact on Pakistan after India’s boycott of the match
Along with Pakistan, they have to face the Netherlands and the United States before the India match and then play another match with Namibia on February 18. As per the current scenario, if Pakistan is unable to secure wins against the United States, Namibia and the Netherlands, their T20 World Cup 2026 race may come to an immediate halt; It is even possible to be out of the title race due to lack of points. If Pakistan wants to go to the next round, it will have to win the remaining three group matches.
Recently, Pakistan cricket team had suffered a crushing defeat from the USA cricket team. The United States famously defeated Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and qualified for the next round as the second-placed team in their group. And Netherlands has a history of achieving some impressive wins against some of the top cricket playing nations. So, it goes without saying that India boycotting the match will put Pakistan in an even more difficult position in the tournament.
Why did the Pakistan government take this decision?
The Pakistani government adopts a boycott stance in protest against the ICC to exclude Bangladesh from the competition. Bangladesh refused to travel to India to play their T20 World Cup 2026 matches. Citing security concerns, he demanded to play in Sri Lanka instead of India. The ICC did not accept Bangladesh’s request and gave them a 24-hour ultimatum. Bangladesh also remained adamant on the decision.
As a result, the ICC replaced the Bangladesh cricket team with Scotland. After which Pakistan changed its stand and finally decided not to play against India in Colombo on 15 February.
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