IND vs PAK T20 World Cup Row: Waris Pathan REACTS As Pakistan Boycotts Match Against India, 'Who Are They To Decide...' - VIDEO

Mumbai: AIMIM National Spokesperson Waris Pathan on Monday, February 2, reacted sharply to Pakistan's boycott of the T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. He questioned as to who is Pakistan to decide whether to play or not, and asked, "What standing do they have?" His statement came as the Pakistan government announced that its team would skip the India game on February 15 in Colombo.

While speaking top news agency IANS, Pathan questioned, "What standing do Pakistan have?" and asserted that “India should have said clearly that we do not want to play with you.”

He added, “These terrorists came and killed our innocent, unarmed tourists in the name of religion, carrying out a massacre in front of their wives and children. India carried out Operation Sindoor and destroyed the terrorist camps there."

Meanwhile, The Pakistan government did not give any reason for its decision not to play against India. The Indian team is in terrific form ahead of the World Cup and won the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 4-1.

Hours after Pakistan decided to boycott its T20 World Cup group stage clash against India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said that "selective participation" is not fair to the "fundamental premise of a global sporting event" and that it expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.

ICC said in a release that it has noted the statement that the Government of Pakistan has made regarding the decision to instruct its national team to selectively participate in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

"While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule," the release said.

It said that ICC tournaments are built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness, and selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions.

"While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan. The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country, as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of," the release said.

Notably, Pakistan have a terrible record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups. The two teams have played eight times, with the record standing at 7-1 in India's favour. The ICC T20 World Cup will begin on February 7.

BCCI Reacts On Pak's Boycott

BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla broke the board's silence on the IND vs PAK controversy. The ICC, in turn have threatened strong consequences against PCB if they partially boycott the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

Speaking to the reports on Monday, Shukla said that BCCI will take any action based on conversations with ICC.

"ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won't make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC," he added.

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