By Admin 
Pakistan Vs India Boycott Timeline: The controversy regarding the match to be played between India vs Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has finally ended. The news of Pakistan government boycotting the match against India came out on 1st February and now the news of the matter ending on 9th February came out. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has accepted some demands of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in a three-party meeting held in Lahore on Sunday, February 8. Because of this, the speculations and confusion that had been going on for weeks for the T20 World Cup 2026 have come to an end. Now this big match between India and Pakistan is just waiting for the formal announcement.
Imran Khawaja resolved India-Pakistan issue
ICC deputy chairman and Singapore representative Imran Khawaja was chosen by the board as the arbitrator on this controversial issue. Imran is considered an influential figure in the ICC and holds voting rights on the board as an Associate Member Director. Mohsin Naqvi from PCB side and former player Aminul Islam from Bangladesh side participated in the meeting. Together, all three resolved this impasse and ended the uncertainty that had been going on for weeks.
What happened on which day in India-Pakistan dispute?
1 February – The Pakistan government had announced that their cricket team will play in the T20 World Cup 2026, but not against India. Until the ICC received formal confirmation from the PCB, it had warned that if Pakistan withdrew from the match, there would be serious consequences. However, Pakistan remained firm on its decision. Later, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also publicly reiterated this stance, making the boycott threat almost official. In less than ten days, the PCB’s tough stance softened. On Monday i.e. 9 February, he reversed his decision and agreed to play against India.
3 February – An informal conversation took place between ICC and PCB. ICC had intensified its efforts to organize the biggest India-Pakistan match of Group A. ICC deputy chairman Imran Khawaja and Emirates Cricket Board chairman Mubashir Usmani held several calls and meetings with PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi and PSL chief and senior advisor to Naqvi Salman Naseer. These efforts had started a week ago. These became more intense after the tweet of Pakistani government.
5 February – Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva wrote a letter to Naqvi urging him to reconsider his decision to abandon the match against India. Warned that this decision could cause serious economic crisis in Sri Lanka, because large-scale preparations have already been made for the contest. The PCB was also reminded of Sri Lanka’s past cooperation, which included touring Pakistan at a sensitive and challenging time.
6 February – According to reports, Naqvi assured his Sri Lankan counterpart that he would respond after consulting the Pakistan government.
7 February – Shortly after Pakistan’s nervous win against Netherlands in the first match of T20 World Cup 2026, a big revelation was made in a PTI report. PCB formally wrote a letter to ICC demanding implementation of the ‘Force Majeure’ clause. This attempt was to justify the boycott of the match against India. ICC was not satisfied with this and along with solid reasons, it also asked for proof that all possible solutions had been tried.
8 February – Imran Khawaja, appointed as arbitrator by the ICC, reached Lahore and held a meeting with Naqvi and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Islam. This meeting lasted for more than five hours, in which Pakistan made many demands, although both sides did not publicly disclose the outcome.
9 February (morning) – After Sri Lanka Cricket, Emirates Cricket Board also wrote a letter to PCB urging it to reconsider its stand. The ECB warned that a boycott would ‘damage the game’ and cause huge economic losses to many member countries, especially associate teams.
9 February (evening) – PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi once again met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and informed him about the discussions held in Lahore and the appeals of BCB, SLC and Emirates Cricket Board. Sharif also spoke on phone to Sri Lankan President Anuar Kumar Dissanayake, who reiterated his request to play the match with Pakistan. The Pakistani government later clarified that the purpose of reversing the boycott decision was ‘to protect the spirit of cricket and support the continuity of this global game in all participating countries.’