ICC T20 World Cup 2026: ICC takes PCB to task, warns about repercussions of boycotting marquee India match

Though Pak govt granted permission for its team to take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup,, it said it would boycott the league stage match against India.

With the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) adamant on forfeiting their ICC T20 World Cup fixture against India, the game's global governing body has literally urged them to consider the long-term repercussions of its decision and “explore a mutually acceptable resolution”.

It is worth mentioning that while the Pakistan government granted permission for its men’s cricket team to take part in the ensuing T20 World Cup, beginning on Saturday (February 7), it said it would boycott the marquee group fixture against India on February 15 in Colombo without specifying the exact reason behind the decision.

However, in a carefully-worded press release, which was quite hard-hitting, ICC minced no words and warned the PCB of the possible repercussions in case of forfeiting the marquee fixture.

“The ICC notes 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 ICC aid in a media release posted on their social media accounts on Sunday (February1).

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026, to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka will run from February 7 to March 8.

ICC's message looked more like like a stern warning for Pakistan whose relationship with their Asian neighbours have been at its lowest ebb since the Pahalgam attacks on tourists.

"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," ICC added in the statement based from their Dubai-based headquarters.

It is worth mentioning that as per ICC's playing. conditions, Pakistan's net run rate will be hit in case of a forfeiture, but not of India's .

ICC's Clause 16.10.7 says in the event of a forfeit, "the net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team's innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition."

For the records, the arch-rivals have never competed in a bilateral series since 2012.