The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the country’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, on Tuesday said Pakistan’s sole aim in their boycott stand-off with the ICC was to gain Bangladesh some “respect”.
The Government of Pakistan sent its national cricket team to play on February 15 at their scheduled match against India. Pakistan had announced an earlier boycott of the much-anticipated match against India. The Government of Pakistan sent its national cricket team to play on February 15 at their scheduled match against India. Pakistan announced this schedule for their upcoming match against India.
Naqvi told reporters in Peshawar on Tuesday that negotiations between their party and the Bangladesh government did not involve any demands except for their request to Bangladesh. Naqvi told reporters in Peshawar on Tuesday that they used their efforts to bring justice to Bangladesh after the country had experienced unfair treatment.
Naqvi said that Bangladesh received everything it demanded through the negotiations which concluded in their current state. “We had no personal aim in this. They can say whatever they want, but purely, our work was only related to Bangladesh. The government reached a decision about that. The government accepted all their requests which confirmed their prior unfair treatment.
Pakistan had decided to boycott their World Cup match against India which would take place during group stages after Bangladesh lost its tournament spot because the ICC denied Bangladesh’s request to move its matches out of India for security reasons.
Scotland replaced Bangladesh as Bangladesh failed to secure their request for all matches to be played outside India which they made following Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mustafizur Rahman removal from the squad after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued directives concerning the minority violence situation in Bangladesh.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) conducted a meeting at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium with PCB and BCB representatives to discuss Pakistan’s decision to boycott their T20 World Cup 2026 match against India in Colombo while BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul urged Pakistan to proceed with their February 15 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match against India.
BCB President Md Aminul Islam expressed deep appreciation for Pakistan’s exceptional support which they have given to Bangladesh during this time. Our friendship should remain strong for everlasting time.
The BCB statement requested Pakistan to play the ICC T20 World Cup game on 15 February against India which would bring benefits to the entire cricket ecosystem according to the BCB statement.
ICC announced that the BCB would face no penalties because Bangladesh refused to play their T20 World Cup matches in India and they received permission to host an ICC event from 2028 to 2031.