- By Himanshu Badola
- Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:05 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistan's record in T20 World Cup History: Pakistan might not feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. A final decision on their participation is yet to be taken amid the Pakistan Cricket Board's ongoing stand-off against the ICC and the BCCI after Bangladesh's exclusion from the T20 World Cup.
The ICC brought in Scotland as Bangladesh's replacement after the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) stood firm on their stance against India travel and a wish of shifting their venues to Sri Lanka. PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday to discuss the matter, two days after he said that their men's national team's participation in the tournament would be left up to the government.
"Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister ... Shehbaz Sharif," Naqvi tweeted. "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 [on participation] will be taken either on Friday or next Monday."
Interestingly, a complete boycott of the tournament is not the only option the PCB is considering. There have been speculations about the possibility of specifically refusing to play their match against India as a more concrete protest. Expressing his solidarity with Bangladesh, Naqvi came out sharply critical of the ICC's decision to kick Bangladesh out of the tournament. He accused the global body of "double standards" favouring India, terming what happened to Bangladesh "an injustice", and casting doubt on Pakistan's own participation in the tournament.
While Pakistan will already be playing their matches in Sri Lanka, they will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign with the opening game against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, just four days out from the PCB's potential decision day. Their much-awaited match against arch-rivals India is scheduled to be played in Colombo on February 15.
As the controversy around the T20 World Cup 2026 continues to escalate, let's take a look at Pakistan's record in the mega event over the years.
Inaugural edition and a memorable IND vs PAK final
Pakistan have participated in every edition of the T20 World Cup, starting from the inaugural tournament in 2007. India and Pakistan came out as the two best teams in the T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa, eventually facing off in the final. The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan in a thrilling contest to become the first T20 champions.
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First and only title
Pakistan maintained the consistency and made it to yet another final. This time, they got the better of Sri Lanka in the final at the iconic Lord's to lift their maiden T20 WC title under Younis Khan's captaincy.
Historic win vs India and back-to-back knockout qualifications
After disappointing performances in the next few tournaments, Pakistan entered the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup under Babar Azam's captaincy. Pakistan created history before making it to the semifinal on the back of some impressive efforts. They defeated India by 10 wickets in their first match of the tournament, their first-ever against the arch-rivals in the World Cup cricket.
However, they ended up losing the thrilling semifinal against Australia. Next year in Australia, Pakistan produced another outstanding effort to reach the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. However, they suffered a defeat against India in a thrilling contest in the Super 12, with Virat Kohli producing an iconic knock in the run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Men in Green ended up losing the title clash to England.
New low with defeat against USA and India
In an interesting turn of events, Pakistan couldn't get past the group stages in the T20 World Cup 2024. They lost their matches against India and the USA, leading to heavy criticism as well as major changes in their leadership group, as Babar Azam was removed from the captaincy across formats.
Threat Of Another Defeat Against India Behind PAK's Boycott Talks?
The build-up to the T20 World Cup 2026 hasn't been any good for Pakistan. They lost thrice against India in the Asia Cup 2025, including a final in Dubai. The tournament was played amid massive political tensions between the countries. If Pakistan remain out of the tournament, it could be a major turn in the cricket played in the subcontinent.
Apart from all the chaos that has taken place over the past few weeks, consistently embarrassing results against the arch-rivals India could also be a big reason behind PCB and Mohsin Naqvi's step to make a complete shift in focus from their players. There hasn't been any talk or criticism of the dipping performances of their team and players in the big tournaments since PCB made an unnecessary entry in Bangladesh's T20 WC fiasco.
IND vs PAK Head-To-Head Record In T20 World Cups
Matches: 8
India Won: 6
Pakistan Won: 1
Tied: 1
Despite not confirming their participation, Pakistan already have announced their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, with Salman Ali Agha set to lead the side in the presence of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and others.