The relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh is hinted to take a new turn after some significant comments made by the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi, who is also an interior minister of the nation.
In a fresh statement, Naqvi claimed that only because of the President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, they withdrew their boycott of the India match stance. Mohsin Naqvi called Dissanayake the “Real Hero.”
PCB decided to boycott India vs Pakistan match
Through an official statement on social media platforms, the Government of Pakistan informed that they would not take the field on February 15 to play against India. The official statement was believed to be heavily influenced by Naqvi.
The PCB chief held a meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the situation after the snubbing of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026.
Why Pakistan took the boycott stance, going against ICC?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) ejected the Bangladesh cricket team from the flagship tournament as they refused to travel to India for their 2026 T20 World Cup group matches, citing ‘safety and security’ concerns.
The council gave an ultimatum to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to rethink their decision, but the BCB officials remained strong in their position only to be thrown out of the tournament.
As soon as the ICC dismissed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan came into the scenario, creating a fresh tension before the beginning of the competition. Pakistan stated that they would participate in the tournament but would not play against India.
To ease the matter, ICC held a meeting with PCB in the presence of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Malaysian cricket representatives. The meeting proved fruitful. After the discussions, Pakistan took a U-turn and went to play the February 15th match with India in Colombo.
A couple of days later, after the India vs Pakistan match, Mohsin Naqvi revealed that only because of a phone call from the Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, they reversed their boycott call.
Mohsin Naqvi called Sri Lanka President the real hero
“You were the actual hero because of you 2 billion people were entertained. It’s only because of you we played the match. As soon as the Prime Minister received the call, he called me up and said there is no more issue, and the President has called me, and we have to play the match,” Mohsin Naqvi said, thanking the Sri Lankan President.
According to media reports, Dissanayake was concerned about the financial losses if the India vs Pakistan game was cancelled. Additionally, in the recent past, Sri Lanka travelled to Pakistan to play matches in an effort to repolish their relation with Pakistan.
