Former captain Rashid Latif on Pakistan boycotting India T20 World Cup match
“The PCB is in violation of a treaty of which it is a co-signatory. It states that India and Pakistan agree to participate in ICC events and play against each other at neutral venues. There is no force majeure clause in this agreement,” explained a source following the development.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The International Cricket Council (ICC) Conditions of Participation state that a Full Member (FM) state must make every effort to mitigate concerns, if any, cited by the government. This is likely to be mentioned when there is a dialogue between the ICC and the PCB representatives in the coming days and the PCB might be asked to show its efforts in the same.Additionally, since the Pakistan government had flagged the match against India, ICC officials may have questioned whether this was a new policy applicable to all sports.“Since only one match has been selected, it must be clear whether the Pakistan government has said no to any sporting activity with India,” the source added.Pakistan could face sanctions because of its government’s interference in the affairs of a sports organization affiliated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it has emerged. Nothing like this has ever happened in cricket.On Sunday, the Pakistani government started the chain of events by issuing a statement that read: “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026. However, the Pakistan Cricket Team will not take the field in the match scheduled for February 15, 2026 against India.”While the PCB has not communicated with the ICC on the matter, the global cricket body issued a statement questioning the “selective participation position”.
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“While the ICC awaits an official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the basic premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms as per the schedule of the event.“ICC tournaments are built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness, and selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions,” the report said.