New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly set to backtrack on its decision to boycott Pakistan’s clash against India in the T20 World Cup 2026 following a meeting with ICC officials in Lahore on Sunday. ICC’s deputy chair Imran Khwaja met Naqvi on Sunday in a bid to resolve the standoff between the world body and the PCB over Pakistan’s stance to boycott their game against India.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam also attended the meeting, which took place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. In pictures and a video shared by PCB, Naqvi was seen welcoming Khawaja in Lahore before the duo sat in the meeting alongside BCB chief Islam and other PCB officials.
As per a report in NDTV, Pakistan is set to make a U-turn on its decision to boycott the India game following the meeting. As per the report, PCB chief Naqvi, who remained defiant despite early warnings from ICC, was warned of severe consequences of a boycott during his meeting with ICC officials on Sunday.
Naqvi is expected to consult Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before arriving at a final decision regarding Pakistan’s participation in their clash against India, which is scheduled to take place in Colombo on February 15. Earlier, the Pakistan government had announced that the Pakistan team would not take the field in their group-stage clash against India in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Though no reason was given for the decision, it is understood that the Pakistan government’s move came in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh were removed from the tournament and replaced by Scotland after refusing to travel to India for their matches, citing security reasons.
Bangladesh’s decision not to travel to India came in protest against the BCCI’s direction to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad ahead of IPL 2026. BCCI directed KKR to release the Bangladesh player amid increasing poltical tensions between India and Bangladesh and backlash on social media over rising violence againt Hindus in the country.