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Islamabad: Ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have halted their team preparations for the marquee T20 event, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after announcing its support for Bangladesh’s decision to boycott playing in India, as per Geo News.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not issued any statement confirming this report.
Recently, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL 2026 squad on instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) amid ongoing minority atrocities in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate their matches to venues outside India, citing concerns about “safety and security” of their players.
Describing Bangladesh’s security concerns as “reasonable and valid,” Pakistan had on January 19 expressed full support for the BCB’s decision to avoid travelling to India for their T20 World Cup matches,
According to Islamabad-based Geo News, the Pakistan team management has been asked to prepare a contingency plan in case Pakistan decides not to participate in the tournament. Pakistan, the media outlet reported, has further said that it will reconsider its participation in the T20 World Cup if the Bangladesh issue remains unresolved.
Further, PCB have also expressed willingness to host Bangladesh’s T20 WC matches if venues in Sri Lanka were unavailable.
Meanwhile, the ICC is firm on not changing its original schedule where Bangladesh in placed in Group C with Italy, New Zealand, West Indies and Nepal.
Notably, the ICC and BCB have had two meetings, but the issue is yet to be resolved, with the T20 World Cup set to begin in just over two weeks .
As per ICC sources, the world’s cricket governing body had earlier given an ultimatum to BCB to give their final decision on whether they will send the Bangladesh cricket team to India or not for the upcoming ICC World Cup by January 21. If the BCB refuses to send its team to India, the ICC is likely to name a replacement, and, as per the current rankings, it could be Scotland.
The T20 World Cup will start on February 7.
Bangladesh are scheduled to open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They will next face Italy on February 9 at the same venue, then be pitted against the 2022 T20 World Cup champions, England, in Kolkata and will conclude their group-stage campaign with a clash against Nepal on February 17.
Pakistan, on the other hand, are clubbed with India, USA, Netherlands and Namibia in Group A and is scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7. They are slated to play against India on February 15 at Colombo, Sri Lanka. (ANI)
