The federal government on Sunday allowed the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 but banned the green jersey from playing the February 15 match against India.
The development followed a meeting between Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the federal capital.
Sources familiar with the matter said Geographic news that the ICC’s partial treatment of Bangladesh was the main reason behind the decision.
Tensions erupted between the Bangladesh and Indian cricket boards after star Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was withdrawn from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), sparking outrage in Dhaka.
The BCB later requested the ICC to move its matches out of India, but the international cricket body rejected the request. In view of the BCB’s firm stance, the ICC replaced them with Scotland in the main event, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the start of the tournament on February 7.
Referring to the Pakistan government’s decision, sources said that the decision was aimed at expressing solidarity with Bangladesh.
“The Pakistan team was instructed not to play the February 15 match against India in protest,” sources added.
India’s Jay Shah, elected unopposed as president of the sport’s world body in August 2024, has turned the ICC into an “Indian Cricket Council” with his biased decision, sources said.
“The principles of justice and equality have been shattered by biased decisions,” government sources said, adding that double standards were being adopted in making decisions from the ICC platform.
Given the prevailing situation, it was necessary to register the protest, government sources added.
