By Admin 
Pakistan has decided to boycott the match against India in the T20 World Cup 2026. Team captain Salman Ali Aga has made it clear that the decision of not playing the match against India is not his, he will do whatever the government or PCB tells him. Former cricketer Kamran Akmal supported this and said that this should have happened long ago.
The Pakistan government has decided that their team will play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 but not against India. Let us tell you that India vs Pakistan match is to be held in Colombo on 15th February, both are included in the same group. However, it has not been made clear yet that if Pakistan reaches Super-8, will this boycott continue there also? Mixed reactions have been seen on this decision of Pakistan. Know who said what.
What did the Pakistan captain say?
When Salman Ali Aga was asked a question related to this in the press conference after the third T20 against Australia, he said, “We are going to play in the World Cup. The decision of not playing the match against India is not ours, we cannot do anything about it. We will do whatever the government or PCB tells us.”
Kamran Akmal supported the decision
Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal supported the decision of not playing the match against India and said that this should have been done long ago. He told AFP, “Enough is enough, we had to do this. India has repeatedly damaged the essence of cricket by mixing sport with politics. Therefore, this tough decision should be supported.”
Cricketer Aakash Chopra taunted, “Pakistan took this decision on the day India defeated Pakistan in the ICC tournament. Can this be called hypocrisy?” He was referring to that match of the Under-19 World Cup, where India defeated Pakistan and eliminated them from the tournament and made it to the semi-finals.
Former PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood
Speaking to BBC Urdu, the former president said, “Pakistan should again demand an emergency meeting of the ICC. Other ICC members should make Pakistan understand that India brings politics into the game every time and this trend should be stopped. Sometimes they do not shake hands, sometimes refuse to take the trophy and sometimes refuse to play in another country. Other ICC member countries should also understand why every country has a dispute with India.”
He also raised the issue of Bangladesh. He said, “Many teams have refused to come to Pakistan due to security reasons, but ICC has not forced anyone to go to Pakistan and play, then why was Bangladesh forced to play in India? Even if we suffer a loss of millions of dollars, we should not back down from it. Because the world does not look at money but at principles.”
The broadcaster will face a lot of trouble – Basit Ali
Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel, “If Pakistan does not play in the World Cup, the broadcaster will be in trouble. If Pakistan is out, then the team playing against India will also get the same number of viewers.”
The BBC report quoted the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry as saying that matches between India and Pakistan have generated revenue of more than $1 billion in the last 20 years.
Pakistani sports analyst Dr. Nauman Niaz said during a show that “If Pakistan does not play, it will shake the entire World Cup.” According to him, if PCB had decided not to play the match against India, ICC could have imposed a ban but when the government has taken this decision then it is difficult for them to impose ban.
Anything can happen in 24 hours- Rashid Latif
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said in an interview to The Times of India, “Both India and Pakistan had agreed that matches would be played in the hybrid model for the next three years. Everything was going well. The Asia Cup was held in Dubai and in the Women’s ODI World Cup, Pakistan played its matches in Sri Lanka, but this changed as soon as the Bangladesh issue came up.”
He said, “When there is an India vs Pakistan match, the number of spectators reaches crores. The price of sponsorship increases, so this decision will not directly affect India but the ICC. PCB is not afraid of restrictions either.” According to him, this will also affect the upcoming events.