- PCB intervention believed to have little bearing on ICC’s place.
- ICC stays agency on sustaining current match schedule.
- No public assertion from PCB on the matter made to date.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written to the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) expressing assist for Bangladesh’s concern relating to travelling to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, simply forward of the governing physique’s assembly on the matter, ESPNcricinfo reported.
In its correspondence, the PCB backed the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) reluctance to play matches in India amid regional political instability. Sources stated that the letter was additionally circulated amongst ICC Board members.
The ICC is reportedly set to make a remaining resolution on Bangladesh’s involvement within the 2026 males’s T20 World Cup in its board assembly right now (Wednesday).
The ICC will deliberate on Bangladesh’s request to relocate its World Cup fixtures to Sri Lanka, citing safety considerations in India. Nevertheless, it stays unclear whether or not the PCB’s correspondence prompted the ICC to convene the assembly.
Whereas the timing of the PCB’s intervention has drawn consideration, it’s believed to have little bearing on the ICC’s present place. The governing physique has to date stood agency on sustaining the present match schedule, not permitting Bangladesh to play its matches in Sri Lanka, one of many occasion’s co-hosts alongside India, as requested.
The ICC reiterated this stance to the BCB throughout discussions held final week.
Backed by the Bangladeshi authorities, the BCB has maintained its refusal to journey to India for the group-stage fixtures. Regardless of a number of rounds of talks between the ICC and the BCB, together with a current assembly in Dhaka over the weekend, neither facet has shifted its place.
The ICC continues to insist that the matches proceed as scheduled, whereas the BCB stays unwilling to ship its staff to India.
The PCB’s entry into the difficulty follows days of hypothesis about its potential position in resolving the impasse. Unconfirmed experiences prompt that Pakistan had supplied to host Bangladesh’s matches and that the PCB was even reconsidering Pakistan’s personal participation within the World Cup, relying on the end result of Bangladesh’s case.
The PCB has to date made no public assertion on the matter.
With the T20 World Cup scheduled to start on February 7, Bangladesh are at present slated to play their opening match in opposition to West Indies in Kolkata, adopted by two extra group video games on the similar venue, earlier than concluding their group-stage fixtures in Mumbai.
The dispute traces again to the removing of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2026 squad on directions from the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI), with none official rationalization.
This growth was adopted by the Bangladesh authorities banning the printed of the IPL within the nation, after which the BCB formally knowledgeable the ICC of its refusal to play T20 World Cup matches in India — a place it has maintained since.
Earlier experiences counsel that Pakistan was anticipated to reassess its participation within the ICC Males’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India-Sri Lanka, following growing considerations associated to the Bangladesh cricket staff.
The Bangladesh authorities had reached out to Pakistan for assist over its resolution to skip travelling to India for the match, citing safety considerations, sources informed Geo Information.
They added that Pakistan helps Bangladesh’s reputable considerations, emphasising that they need to be addressed and acted upon.
Pakistan has additionally harassed that no nation ought to face stress or threats from India, assuring Bangladesh of its full assist on the matter.
