The plot of the 2026 T20 World Cup saga just got thicker. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday announced the long-pending decision to eject Bangladesh from the competition after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to travel to India due to security concerns.
However, now, there’s a slight chance the ICC might call Bangladesh back, with just over ten days to go for the opener on February 7. This huge twist is reliant on Pakistan, Bangladesh’s only supporter of the demand to shift its matches out of India, which the ICC rejected, citing an independent check and logistical issues.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering boycotting the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh. According to a Hindustan Times report, if they go through that decision, the ICC will give Bangladesh the first chance to be a replacement.
“If Pakistan decide to withdraw, Bangladesh would be given the opportunity to replace them in Group A and play all their matches in Sri Lanka as per BCB’s original request. This arrangement would pose limited logistical challenges," the report quoted an official as saying.
Pakistan have already confirmed their squad for the World Cup, though a formal decision on whether they’d travel or not is pending. PCB chairman and Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had called the ICC’s omission of Bangladesh an ‘injustice’, saying that they’d seek their Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s views before making a final call.
Naqvi on Monday said that they’d decide by Friday or next Monday, which would hardly leave any time for another team to replace them in Group A. The report said that such a move would be in violation of a deal between the PCB, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC.
“It was on PCB’s demand that an understanding of the hybrid model was worked out between the Indian and Pakistani boards. By not playing, they would be violating a deal they themselves had worked for," the quoted official said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani media has reported that the PCB is also considering traveling for the World Cup but boycotting the February 15 match against India in Colombo.
Source: News18