Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said Pakistan’s only objective during the ICC standoff was to secure Bangladesh’s respect, speaking in Peshawar after Islamabad withdrew its India match boycott threat on Monday.
Pakistan’s government announced on February 1 that the national team would not face India at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Behind the scenes, quiet talks between the PCB, the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the ICC reshaped that position.
Those discussions gathered pace after the ICC confirmed Bangladesh would face no punishment for refusing to play in India. The global body also awarded Bangladesh hosting rights for an ICC event between 2028 and 2031.
That statement unlocked the deadlock. Pakistan promptly stepped back from its boycott stance, easing fears around the tournament’s future and its finances.
Naqvi framed Pakistan’s role as purely defensive. He said, “Bangladesh was the only issue we raised in discussions. Our sole aim was to restore Bangladesh’s honour and address the injustice done to them.”
The PCB chief dismissed claims of hidden motives. He added, “We had no personal interest. People can say what they like, but in reality our actions were only for Bangladesh.”
The crisis began when the ICC voted to replace Bangladesh with Scotland at the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh’s government blocked the tour to India over security concerns, a decision shaped further by Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL exclusion.
Naqvi openly criticised the ICC’s handling of that episode. He argued the boycott threat existed only to force a correction, not to escalate regional rivalry.
Once the ICC shifted its stance, Pakistan followed suit. Naqvi said, “You have seen that everything Bangladesh wanted has been accepted. When that happened and the injustice was acknowledged, we agreed to play India.”
