T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan on Sunday formally announced its decision to boycott its marquee ICC T20 World Cup group league match against India, even as the government cleared the national team's participation for the rest of the tournament, starting February 7. Pakistan government's decision is being perceived as a mark of protest after ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland not accepting the latter's demand of shifting its matches from India to Sri Lanka due to security reasons.

In a statement posted on its verified social media handle, the government of Pakistan said it has granted approval to the Pakistan cricket team to take part in the tournament but said the team "shall not take the field" for the February 15 fixture against India in Colombo.
The decision brings an end to days of speculation over Pakistan's participation in the tournament, which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and comes amid heightened political tensions in the region.

"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India," the government posted on social media.

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PCB had said that the government will decide on team's participation in the tournament in the wake of Bangladesh's ouster from the tournament.

‘They Don’t Want To Lose Again’: Anurag Thakur On Pakistan Skipping India Match At T20 World Cup

‘They Don’t Want To Lose Again’: Anurag Thakur On Pakistan Skipping India Match At T20 World Cup

BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Sunday launched a sharp attack against the Pakistan cricket team over their decision to skip the match against India in the T20 World Cup. Speaking to CNN-News18, the BJP MP said the Pakistan cricket team has decided to skip the match as they fear losing again to the India cricket team.

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A statement posted on the Government of Pakistan’s official X account said the authorities had approved the Pakistan team’s travel to Sri Lanka for the tournament.

However, it added that the Pakistan cricket team would not take the field for its scheduled match against India on February 15, 2026.

The statement did not specify a reason for that decision.