The Pakistan Cricket Board has written to the ICC expressing support for Bangladesh’s position that it does not want to play matches in India at the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, citing political turmoil in the region.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB’s email, sent on Tuesday, was also copied to members of the ICC Board. It came a day before the ICC is expected to take a final call on Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament.
The ICC is understood to have called a Board meeting on Wednesday to address Bangladesh Cricket Board’s request that its matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, the tournament’s co-hosts, because of security concerns in India. It is not clear whether the PCB’s intervention prompted the meeting.
Despite the timing of the PCB’s message, it is understood that it is unlikely to alter the ICC’s position. The governing body has so far remained firm that the World Cup schedule will not be changed and that Bangladesh’s matches will go ahead as planned in India. That stance has been communicated to the BCB during discussions held last week.
The BCB, with the backing of the Bangladesh government, has refused to send its team to India for the group-stage fixtures. Representatives of the ICC and the BCB have met several times to try to resolve the impasse, most recently in Dhaka over the weekend. Neither side has shifted its position, with January 21 set as a deadline for a decision, less than three weeks before the tournament begins.
The PCB’s late involvement follows days of speculation about its own response to the situation. Unverified reports suggested Pakistan had offered to host Bangladesh’s matches, while others claimed the PCB was reviewing Pakistan’s participation in the tournament depending on the outcome of Bangladesh’s case.
The PCB has not commented publicly and did not respond to queries from ESPNcricinfo.
The dispute traces back to the BCCI instructing Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for IPL 2026. The reasons were never fully explained, although deteriorating political relations between India and Bangladesh were cited. That decision prompted the Bangladesh government to formally state that the national team would not play in India.
Since then, the situation has escalated. A player boycott in Bangladesh disrupted the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League after a senior BCB official made disparaging remarks about leading players while discussing the potential financial impact of Bangladesh missing the T20 World Cup altogether.
