With the speculations over Pakistan boycotting the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 having brought attention across the cricketing fraternity, the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi’s statement has further brought hype over their participation in the marquee event.
This comes after Bangladesh was exiled from the ICC event after they refused to travel to India due to concerns over security, with Scotland named as the replacement.
Earlier, Naqvi expressed uncertainty over Pakistan’s participation and said that the decision would be made by the government, which came after Bangladesh was ruled out of the tournament.
When asked about the potential boycott of the tournament, Mohasin Naqvi said, “Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz (Shahbaz) Sharif.”
“Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday,” said the PCB chief in social media post.
After Mohsin Naqvi’s statement, 15-member Pakistan squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup has been announced, who will be aiming for etching their names in the T20 World Cup winners list for the second time since 2009.
The ICC has already given exception for Pakistan by setting up all their Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures including the game against India in Sri Lanka and further pushing the Sport governing body will definitely invite severe santions which includes from global and continental tournaments and the withdrawal of NOCs for the overseas players in PSL.
Hence it would be highly unlikely for Pakistan to boycott the tournament. As per the men’s T20 World Cup 2026 schedule, Pakistan will take on Netherlands on February 07 at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket, Colombo.
Pakistan Squad: Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq
