The news of 1 year ICC ban on Pakistani cricket team is fake. This rumor of India boycotting matches in the T20 World Cup was spread by a fake press release. ICC has not officially confirmed any such ban.
Dubai: The news is spreading rapidly on social media that ICC has banned the Pakistani cricket team for one year after announcing boycott of the match against India in the T20 World Cup. The rumor started when a press release on a purported official ICC letterhead went viral after Pakistan announced its withdrawal from the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match to be held in Colombo on February 15.
This press release states that Pakistan’s decision to boycott the match against India was discussed in the ICC board meeting and with a majority of 14-2 it was decided to ban the Pakistani team for one year. Apart from this, it has also been claimed that Pakistan’s domestic T20 league, PSL, has also been banned for one year and the annual share received by Pakistan from ICC has been reduced from 5.75% to 2.25%. In this letter going viral, it is also written that Pakistan will not be given hosting of any ICC tournament till 2040.
what the FAC
There has been no official confirmation of this ban from ICC. No information about any such ban has been given on ICC’s official website or social media handles. If you carefully look at the press release going viral, it becomes clear that it has been edited. The font used in this is different from the font of the original ICC press release. Apart from this, this fake document also has the signature of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, which is usually not there in ICC press releases.
In an official statement issued by the ICC on February 1, 2026, it was only said that Pakistan’s ‘participation in selected matches’ (skipping only the matches with India) is not right and it will affect global cricket. There was no mention of ban in it. Not only this, ICC is still in informal talks with Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the boycott.
This is a fake press release
The news of Pakistan Cricket Board being banned for one year is completely fake. This fake press release is being spread amid the uncertainty regarding the India-Pak match.