Amid tensions that continue to flare up around the 2026 T20 World Cup, the Pakistan government has decided to postpone their decision on allowing their team to play in the tournament.
This came after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi's meeting with Islamabad PM Shehbaz Sharif, which finished at about 5 PM (local time).
"(Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif) directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table," said Naqvi, in his first comments after the 30-minute meeting. The decision on whether Pakistan will play in the tournament will be taken "either on Friday or next Monday", he added.
The two are also yet to discuss whether the Pakistan side will boycott the February 15 T20 match against India.
This comes after the PCB on Sunday announced their 15-member World Cup squad. However, even then, Naqvi had said that the final decision on whether the team would play in the tournament depended on the government's approval.
The news of the decision being postponed came as a major disappointment for fans, as Pakistani news channels—as well as certain cricketers like Basit Ali—had hinted at big developments after the meeting.
The uncertainty over Pakistan playing in the T20 World Cup this year is a result of Bangladesh being replaced with Scotland in the tournament due to their refusal to play matches in India, owing to political tensions. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on January 20 also declined the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) request for relocating the India-based matches.
However, thing are different for Pakistan, which had since been threatening to boycott the match against India, in solidarity with Dhaka.
This is because Pakistan's demands of playing in a neutral venue have already been met—they are scheduled to play all their T20 World Cup 2026 matches in Sri Lanka.
However, they can still go ahead and boycott the game with India, due to political tensions between the two nations, as well as the drama at the end of an Asia Cup match in 2025 between them, which saw the Indian side refuse to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.