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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has issued a sharp warning to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Pakistan’s government cleared the national team to play in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup but barred it from taking the field against India.
In a post on X on Sunday, the Pakistan government announced that the team had been authorised to travel for the tournament, but would not play the group-stage match against India scheduled for February 15.
A few hours later, the ICC said it had yet to receive any formal communication from the PCB, but made clear that “selective participation” would not be tolerated.
The council said the stance was difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global event in which all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms according to a fixed schedule, bdnews24.com reports.
ICC tournaments, it stressed, are built on “sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness”, and picking and choosing fixtures undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competition.
While the ICC said it respected the role of governments in matters of national policy, it bluntly added that the decision was not in the interests of the global game or of supporters worldwide, “including millions in Pakistan”.
It urged the PCB to consider the “significant and long-term implications” for cricket in Pakistan, warning that such a move was likely to affect the wider global cricket ecosystem of which Pakistan is both a member and a beneficiary.
The ICC said its priority remained the successful staging of the Men’s T20 World Cup and insisted that this should be the responsibility of all member boards, including the PCB. It “expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution” that protects the interests of all stakeholders.
The row comes against the backdrop of more than a decade of frozen bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan, whose political hostility has restricted their meetings to ICC and Asian Cricket Council tournaments. Even those have not been free of rancour: last year’s Asia Cup saw a furore over reports that Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
Pakistan has not publicly cited a reason for its planned boycott of the India match. But PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has already accused the ICC of double standards over the exclusion of Bangladesh from the World Cup, and had hinted that Pakistan’s participation would ultimately depend on the government’s decision. That decision was made public on Sunday.
Beyond politics, the stakes are commercial. Of the 55 matches scheduled for the 2026 tournament, an India-Pakistan clash is widely regarded as the single most valuable fixture by broadcasters and sponsors.
Industry estimates cited by Indian outlet Cricbuzz suggest that a typical India international is now worth about $10-11 million in media rights alone.
An India-Pakistan match, by contrast, may be worth twice that – or more. A loss of around $21.8 million in direct value from the World Cup package, should the game not go ahead, is seen as a conservative estimate.
For now, the ICC is waiting for an official letter from Lahore. But its language leaves little doubt that, if Pakistan follows through on its threat to skip the India match, it can expect a bruising confrontation with the game’s governing body. And possibly a bill, as well as a ban, to follow.