PCB’s Mohsin Naqvi had once claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board would be backing the BCB to such an extent that if the ICC fails to resolve the issue of Bangladesh’s ICC T20 World Cup matches in India, then Pakistan would also withdraw from the competition. However, the plans have seemingly changed over time.
The BCB has been stuck in the maze between their standpoint to deny travelling to India and the ICC’s ultimatum to not make any changes to the schedule. This fiasco, which began on the 4th of January after Mustafizur Rahman‘s unexplained snub by the BCCI, has been escalating for over 3 weeks.
On the other hand, the BCB had also cited security complications as the main reason for Bangladesh to omit their plans to travel to India; however, the ICC assessed the threat level as ‘nil to negligible.’
Pakistan drops massive update on ICC T20 World Cup participation; Mohsin Naqvi ditches BCB
Previously, Pakistan news outlet Geo News had reported that the BCB has reached out to the PCB and Mohsin Naqvi for diplomatic support, and since both nations are currently against the BCCI, they could be allies amid this dispute.
The PCB Chief, Mohsin Naqvi, had extended his hand of friendship towards the BCB, and since then, the speculations were that the preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup were halted by Pakistan, as they considered pulling out of the tournament if the issue with Bangladesh remained unresolved.
As per the latest reports from RevSportz, Pakistan have clarified that they will not boycott the tournament even if Bangladesh opts to withdraw from the top-level tournament in the shortest format of the game. “Nope, this is not the PCB’s stand,” one of Hindustan Times’ PCB sources revealed.
“Pakistan don’t have any grounds to do so, because the ICC would point out that Pakistan are already playing their matches in Sri Lanka. People just float such things to fire up the issue,” the source added.
BCB refuses to budge an inch despite ICC ultimatum on T20 World Cup snub
Notably, Pakistan have all its matches scheduled in Sri Lanka, and hence they cannot cite any reason to stir up a new controversy by rejecting the idea to feature in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Hence, there are no grounds for the PCB to withdraw from the competition.
BCB had given multiple options to the ICC after the international body suggested that a change of venue and groups might lead to logistical challenges, which are tough to deal with. BCB had then asked for a group swap with Ireland, who have all matches scheduled in Sri Lanka, but the ICC turned it down as well.
As per ESPNcricinfo reports, the ICC issued an ultimatum to the BCB and asked them to reconsider their decision and make a final call by the 21st of January. However, the BCB denied any such ultimatum and still holds onto its standpoint of not playing matches in India.
Will ICC consider Scotland as the immediate replacement for Bangladesh for the ICC event?
The backing of Mohsin Naqvi has pushed BCB to such an audacious level that they have dared to ignore the ICC’s verdict, and this might cost them big time. The ICC has started considering the idea of replacing Bangladesh with the highest-ranked unqualified team if they decide not to travel to India.
Bangladesh’s stubbornness might prove to be a blessing in disguise for Scotland, the underdogs who are the highest-ranked unqualified team in this World Cup. They would be given Bangladesh’s spot in Group B if they withdraw.
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