In a significant development just days before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 gets underway, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated that his country will not play its scheduled group-stage match against India, maintaining a firm boycott stance that has stirred controversy within the global cricket community.
Speaking to his federal cabinet in Islamabad, Sharif confirmed that Pakistan’s senior men’s cricket team, while participating in the tournament overall, will not take the field against India in their Group A fixture set for February 15 in Colombo. The prime minister described the position as a “clear stand,” underscoring that the decision was made after careful consideration and was aimed at upholding what he described as ‘principles’, even though he paradoxically insisted that “politics should have no place in sports.”
Sharif also framed the boycott as an act of solidarity with Bangladesh, which was earlier removed from the tournament schedule and replaced by Scotland after the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to play matches in India citing security concerns. Pakistan, he said, felt compelled to take a stand after perceiving what it sees as inconsistency in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) handling of the issue.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, features 20 teams in a tightly contested competition. India and Pakistan, two of the sport’s biggest rivals, were slated to renew their historic rivalry in one of the tournament’s most anticipated fixtures. The boycott, however, now puts that clash in jeopardy and marks a rare instance where geopolitical tensions have overtly intersected with the sport at a global ICC event.
