Pakistan Considers T20 World Cup Withdrawal
The ICC Men T20 World Cup 2026 is also a possible event that Pakistan is considering quitting after a controversial decision was made to exclude Bangladesh. The decision of the federal government is likely to be made following a meeting of high ranking between the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi in Islamabad on Monday.
The problem lies in the fact that the ICC had to reject Bangladesh the opportunity to play its matches in Sri Lanka, despite the security concerns, and instead replace the team with Scotland. According to the sources that are close to the issue, the move was blatantly discriminatory and contrary to international sports principles.
The involvement of Pakistan, as it was mentioned by senior government officials, can be determined by more general principles of fairness. It is not only about cricket but it is also about having no two-way traffic in international sports and that is what a source entails. The officials castigated the ICC over granting India a wide scope of discretion in the selection of venues but not Bangladesh.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi was very displeased with how ICC dealt with the situation terming it as inconsistent and unfair. He also said that the board would do everything to abide by the decision of the government. The players in Pakistan have also been on board with the PCB in the view that they should participate within the realms of the federal government.
In the meantime, the national team to play at the T20 world cup in the coming year was announced and it consisted of a combination of experienced players such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Fakhar Zaman and new players Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, and Mohammad Salman Mirza. The campaign of Pakistan will commence with a match against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo and then with USA, India and Namibia. The Super Eight round is to be conducted between February 21 and March 1 with the final taking place on March 8 in either Ahmedabad or Colombo.
The cricketing world is observing with interest whether Pakistan will make a historic move to withdraw itself out of one of the most prominent tourism in international cricket despite the ongoing debate in Islamabad.
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