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- By Gurmeet Batra
- Mon, 02 Feb 2026 02:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistan T20 World Cup Controversy: Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh took a dig at Pakistan's decision to forfeit the match against traditional rival India in the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup 2026, calling it an "unnecessary drama" aimed at misleading people.
Pakistan's government on Sunday instructed its cricket team to boycott their T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 and granted the team conditional approval to take part in the tournament.
After the Pakistan government's decision, the International Cricket Council (ICC) responded firmly to PCB's "selective participation," stating that this undermines the core principle of a global sporting event.
The ICC cautioned of potential sanctions, instructing Pakistan's government to reconsider its decision while awaiting official confirmation from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The former Indian spinner challenged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to be firm on its stance, doubting its courage to follow through on the boycott threat.
"Begani Shadi mei abdullah deewana" Pakistan government has said that their team will participate in the T20 World Cup but will not play against India. There is absolutely no logic to this. This is the same Pakistan government and the same PCB that, after some time, will say that the dispute was actually Bangladesh's, the ICC imposed the ban, and we were ready to play and resolve the issue. This is nothing but a complete drama being created to mislead people. They are trying to project that we stand with Bangladesh," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
"You may say you support Bangladesh, but what have you thought about the people in your own country who want an India-Pakistan match to happen? When the ICC voting took place on Bangladesh's request, it was rejected by a 14-2 margin. The ICC chairman may be from India, but the other 14 members who voted against the request are not from India. Australia, England, South Africa and several other countries were part of that vote and supported the decision to exclude Bangladesh. So why are you unnecessarily picking a fight over this issue, and what exactly do you stand to gain from it? asked Harbhajan.
Harbhajan slammed the PCB's standpoint, pointing out their participation in the Asia Cup despite similar concerns.
“This match was supposed to be played at a neutral venue, and there was no dispute with you. When there was a war recently, you played the Asia Cup despite that. There was the drama about the trophy, but the matches did happen because you were not ready to leave that revenue. If you are such a patriot, where was your patriotism there? So, you didn’t have any feelings for your country, but you now want to stand with some other country," the former spinner said.
“Just wait for the ICC to do justice. There is a possibility that you will face sanctions, fines, and maybe you won’t get to host an ICC tournament ever again," he added.