He is out now. Bangladesh and Pakistan have tacitly joined hands for the T20 World Cup 2026 against India. Bangladesh Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul thanked Islamabad for supporting the country’s boycott of the tournament by boycotting the match against India in Colombo.
“Thank you Pakistan,” Nazrul wrote on Facebook. “Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his country has decided to boycott the match against India to protest Bangladesh’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup,” he added.
Nazrul is a sports advisor in the unelected interim arrangement led by Muhammad Yunus. The adviser functions as a minister of the department. In fact, Nazrul is the sports minister of the interim regime that was installed after Sheikh Hasina’s government was overthrown in July and August 2024.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been instructed by the Sharif government to skip the February 15 match against India in Colombo after Bangladesh replaced Scotland for refusing to play their games on Indian soil due to “security concerns”.
Nazrul’s thanks comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement.
“We have taken a very clear stand in the T20 World Cup that we will not play a match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field,” Sharif said at a cabinet meeting in Islamabad.
“We have taken a very judicious stand and we should completely stand by Bangladesh and I think it is a very appropriate decision. We are with Bangladesh,” he added.
Sharif’s remarks were the first official comments by the Pakistan government or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to publicize the reason boycott the T20 World Cup match.
The cricket policy is in line with the changes taking place in Bangladesh after the fall of the Hasina government. The post-Hasina regime has seen a shift towards Pakistan, from which it fought for liberation in 1971. Pakistan reciprocates.
Last week, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct flights from Dhaka to Islamabad after 14 years.
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Issued by:
Sushim Mukul
Published on:
February 5, 2026