Pakistan’s T20 World Cup boycott ruled out, team to leave for Colombo

The Pakistan Cricket Board has scheduled its T20 World Cup squad to leave for Colombo on February 2, ruling out boycott speculation. PCB sources confirmed participation, including the India clash on February 15, under ICC’s neutral venue agreement

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has scheduled its T20 World Cup squad to depart for Colombo early on February 2, virtually ruling out any possibility of boycotting either the tournament or the marquee clash against India on February 15, sources close to the board said on Thursday.

“The PCB has already made travel arrangements for the World Cup squad to leave early morning on February 2 for Colombo,” a source said.

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The source added that while the PCB had shown its full support to the Bangladesh Cricket Board over its “security concerns” in playing in India, it could not do anything further without damaging its own position within the ICC.

The BCCI, PCB and ICC had earlier entered into a tripartite agreement under which all India-Pakistan matches in ICC events until 2027 will be played at neutral venues.

“Keep in mind Pakistan’s entire World Cup schedule is in Sri Lanka, including the final if they qualify. So on what grounds can they boycott the tournament or the match against India?” the source asked.

It is expected that the PCB will confirm its participation on Friday.

There has been speculation in sections of the media that Pakistan could pull out of the tournament or refuse to play India. But an insider dismissed such reports as rumours.

“When PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he made it clear that all options under consideration should ensure a stable and prosperous future for Pakistan cricket and maintain good relations with the ICC and member boards,” the insider said.

He added that the speculation lacked logic and failed to explain on what grounds the PCB could skip the World Cup or boycott the India match.

“The Indian government has said no to its team playing in Pakistan, but there is no bar on India playing Pakistan in Asia Cup-level events or in ICC events at neutral venues. So how will Pakistan justify boycotting the match against India when its government has always claimed politics should not be mixed with sports?” he asked.