T20 World Cup: PM Shehbaz reiterates Pakistan's stance to boycott India clash

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for the eradication of politics from sports as he backed the federal government's decision to bar the national team from taking the field against arch-rivals India at the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

The Premier, while addressing the federal cabinet, termed the government's decision "appropriate", and shared that it was taken after a collective and careful deliberation in response to the politicisation of the sports.

"We have taken a clear stand regarding the T20 World Cup that we will not play the match against India," he said.

"There should be no politics in sports," he said. "We have taken this stand after deliberating on it carefully," he said, calling it an "appropriate decision".

He further stressed that the country should stand with Bangladesh in the matter, whom the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced with Scotland after they demanded their T20 World Cup 2026 to be moved from India to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the decision earlier this month, following the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released experienced Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad, at the directives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

ICC's stance towards Bangladesh was perceived as biased by the Pakistan government, sources had suggested on Sunday, adding that it played a central role in forcing it to reconsider the national team's participation in the 20-team mega event, scheduled to run from February 7 to March 8.

The government sources added that ICC chief Jay Shah's partial decisions had effectively turned the International Cricket Council into an extension of the Indian cricket board.

They further said that these biased decisions have undermined the principles of fairness and equality, accusing the ICC of applying different standards to different countries on its platform.

Hours later, the ICC, in its statement, expressed hope that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would work towards a "mutually acceptable resolution".