ICC And PCB Confer Regarding Boycott Threat As India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup Match Hangs By A Thread: Report

On February 1, 2026, Pakistan refused to play against India in the ICC T20 World Cup that was scheduled for February 15, 2026. The instructions had come from the Government of Pakistan, where they had announced that the national team would take part in the tournament, but would not take the field against India.

However, there is a chance that Pakistan could make a U-turn from their decision, as the recent report by the Indian Express suggests that the Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) to initiate dialogue over their boycott of the match against India on February 7.

As per the Indian Express, ICC has formally received an official communication from the PCB, where they have outlined their government's decision to boycott the match against India.

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PCB Officially Communicates With ICC Regarding The Match Boycott

The sudden change in tone came after Pakistan's opening day match against the Netherlands, where the former barely avoided a huge upset as the Netherlands bowlers played a huge role in the collapse of the top and middle batting order.

The sequences of events allegedly began when PCB officially wrote to ICC, invoking the ‘Force Majeure’ clause. For the unversed, the ‘Force Majeure’ clause refers to unforeseeable circumstances that can prevent a contract from being fulfilled. In this case, PCB attached their Government's tweet, which announced the boycott of the match against India.

Following this, ICC asked PCB to explain how this clause could apply only to one match and not the whole tournament. ICC also questioned PCB on what steps were taken by them to mitigate the situation and whether or not any alternatives were explored.

The Indian Express suggested that after receiving a detailed receipt from ICC, PCB has since then reportedly reached out to the International Board and are allegedly in discussion to explore possible resolutions.

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India Will Travel To Colombo

Despite the boycott claims by Pakistan, India is set to follow the ICC protocol and travel to Colombo. Additionally, they will also continue with their scheduled training and attend the pre-match conference.