Even before a single ball has been bowled, T20 World Cup 2026 is already hogging the limelight, although not for the right reasons. On Saturday (January 24), Bangladesh were officially removed from the tournament and replaced with Scotland. The International Cricket Council (ICC) have initiated documentation for Scotland's inclusion but cricket's ruling body might have more work to do.
As per latest reports, Pakistan are also contemplating a boycott from the tournament. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has been an aggressive opponent of BCCI since he took over the reins in Pakistan. Naqvi was also a strong supporter of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) during their relocation protests against the ICC.
In fact, Pakistan had also allegedly offered ICC with an option of hosting Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2026 matches. There was also an unwritten understanding between PCB and BCB that their respective teams would backout of the tournament in unison if Bangladesh's demands were not met.
However, there were clarifications from Pakistan's side earlier this week that their team wouldn't be withdrawing from the T20 World Cup as they had no logical grounds to do so. But, Naqvi's latest statement has contradicted this stance. According to the PCB boss, the team is awaiting feedback from the Pakistan government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on whether to participate in the tournament or not.
Sources state that certain important meetings are expected to be held within the next 24-36 hours, after which Pakistan's stance would be known. Should Pakistan take Bangladesh's route, it would be an unprecedented situation for the ICC as they would have to decide on an extra replacement team.
It would be a huge statement against the ICC and BCCI if Pakistan also joins Bangladesh's bandwagon.