T20 World Cup 2026 Controversy: Pakistan might decide to reconsider their participation in the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka, starting on February 7, as the ongoing uncertainty around Bangladesh's venues for the matches continues. The Bangladesh Cricket Board expressed their reluctance over their India travel for the matches amid the ongoing political and cricketing tensions with the neighbouring country.
Having requested the ICC to shift their T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka from India, Bangladesh have reached out to Pakistan to seek their diplomatic and cricketing support. The Bangladesh Cricket Board have also made a suggestion to swap the groups to ensure the smooth conduct of the tournament and their matches take place in Sri Lanka.
As per a report in NDTV, the interim government in Bangladesh contacted officials in Pakistan to seek support over the ongoing controversy around their T20 WC participation. "The Bangladesh government contacted officials in Pakistan to seek support regarding their participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup and received a positive response," a source was quoted as saying by NDTV as saying.
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"Pakistan has indicated to us that they could reconsider their own participation if Bangladesh’s issue is not addressed," the source added.
Notably, Pakistan have had their issues with the BCCI, and it was completely on display during the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai. The political tensions escalated between India and Bangladesh after the reported rise in the killings of Hindus in the neighbouring country. While there was a huge backlash against Bangladesh in India, the BCCI instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad.
Responding to the BCCI's action, the Bangladesh interim government decided to indefinitely ban the broadcast of the IPL before BCB stood against the India travel for the marquee tournament due to security reasons.
The cricketing relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have also improved in recent months. The two boards worked closely during last year's Asia Cup, with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi receiving strong backing from BCB president Aminul Islam.