IND vs PAK T20 World Cup Row: 'Pretty Disgraceful,' Says Congress MP Shashi Tharoor After Pakistan Boycotts Match Against India

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticised the politicisation of cricket, calling Pakistan's boycott of the T20 World Cup 2026 match against India "disgraceful," and urged all parties concerned to "contact each other on an emergency basis" regarding the imbroglio.

Shashi Tharoor said cricket is being politicised and called it disgraceful after Pakistan's decision to boycott the T20 WC match against India, while also noting that Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman should not have been denied his contract with Kolkata Knight Riders for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the first place. He called Bangladesh's response to the Mustafizur situation an overreaction and noted that the whole T20 WC row is spiralling out of control.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's Statement

"It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I don't think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate. Intrusion of politics, I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction but it is also a reflection of the same and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. This whole thing is spiralling out of control," Tharoor told reporters.

"I think we need to really need to come to an understanding that sports, especially a sport like Cricket which means so much to all the people, should be a means of bringing us together at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to go on like this. I honestly think this is now a wake up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it - just say, let's call off this nonsense...You can't go on like this forever," Tharoor added.

SP MP Rajeev Rai, on the other hand, said that India should have taken a firm decision regarding playing against Pakistan after Operation Sindoor.

"It was our mistake that we gave an opportunity to Pakistan, wherein it could turn us down. I believe that after a firm decision should have been taken after Operation Sindoor. 'One step forward, two steps back' is the foreign policy of this Govt," Rajeev Rai said.

Congress MP Ujjwal Raman Singh said India should have refused to play against Pakistan follwoing the Pahalgam Terrorist attack in 2025. Ujjwal Raman, stating, "From the beginning, I was of the firm belief that ever since the Pahalgam attack occurred, India should have refused to play against them. We should have raised this issue on a global scale that we will not play any match. But India played against them after Operation Sindoor. Even the ICC is so helpless that it is not being stern with Pakistan. ICC should ban Pakistan if it does something like this...This will not be tolerated; the Govt of India and ICC should take cognisance of this. India should present its side strongly that this will not be tolerated..."

Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Rai and Ujjwal Raman's comments come after Pakistan decided to boycott its group-stage match against India in the ICC World T20 World Cup, scheduled for February 15. The Pakistan government said in a post on X that the Pakistan team "shall not take the field" in the match against India.

In an X post on Sunday, the Government of Pakistan stated, "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 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 with 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.

"It expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders," the release said further.

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.

The PCB chairman and the country's interior minister, Mohsin Naqv, met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month to brief him on the International Cricket Council's decision after Bangladesh refused to send their team to India over purported "security concerns".

The ICC had last month announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule. Bangladesh's refusal to travel to India for the T20 World Cup came after Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman was expelled from the IPL 2026 squad of Kolkata Knight Riders following BCCI's directive amidst violence against minorities in Bangladesh.

The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB's demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka, in the 20-team tournament to be played from February 7 to March 8.

The decision followed an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB about hosting its scheduled matches in India. Over more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted transparently and constructively, including meetings held both via video conference and in person.

As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.

The ICC's assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule. The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.

Following its meeting, the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.

Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy.

The defending champions, Team India, are slotted in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, the USA, and arch-rivals Pakistan. The Men in Blue will play their opening fixture against the USA on February 7, followed by their match against on February 12.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)