Bad news for ICC and BCCI, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif makes stand CLEAR on T20 World Cup 2026 game vs India, says ‘we will not…’

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have reaffirmed the stance that their national team will boycott the T20 World Cup 2026 match against Team India on February 15.

The Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made the country’s stand about not playing against Team India in the T20 World Cup 2026 abundantly clear with his statement on Wednesday night. The Pakistan PM reaffirmed the nation’s stance that they will not be taking the field against Team India in their Group A league match scheduled to take place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15.

“We have taken a clear stand regarding the T20 World Cup that we will not play the match against India,” Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sarif said while addressing the federal cabinet in Islamabad on Wednesday.

WATCH Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speak about India vs Pakistan match in T20 World Cup 2026 HERE…

PM Shehbaz Sharif said “We will not play against India in the T20 World Cup. We have taken a stand that India’s policies in cricket are unacceptable. We stand with Bangladesh.”pic.twitter.com/sLzOfhIloS
— junaiz (@dhillow_) February 4, 2026

Shehbaz Sharif added that Pakistan cricket team have decided to ‘forgeit’ the India match after careful assessment and called it an ‘appropriate decision’.

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“There should be no politics in sports. We have taken this stand after deliberating on it carefully,” Pakistan PM added.

Pakistan announced the decision to boycott their Group A match against India in the T20 World Cup 2026 after the Pakistan government posted on ‘X’ that the Pakistan Team ‘shall not take the field’ in the match against India without providing any reason.

ICC says ‘selective participation’ is not fair

Following the Pakistan Government’s decision, the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement saying that ‘selective participation’ is not fair to the ‘fundamental premise of a global sporting event’ and that it expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution that protects the interests of all stakeholders.

ICC said in a release that it has noted the Government of Pakistan’s statement regarding the decision to instruct its national team to selectively participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. “While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule,” the ICC statement read.

“While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan. The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country, as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of,” the statement added.

Team India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/

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The Times Of Bengal