Pakistan Instigated Bangladesh to Boycott ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026? Ex-India Cricketer Makes Sensational Claim

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: In a shocker of a move, the Bangladesh government has boycott the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and will not send their national team to India next month. Following the move, a lot of statements are being made over what prompted them to take such a call. 

Amid the snowballing controversy, former India pacer Madan Lal, who was a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, believes it was Pakistan who instigated Bangladesh to pull out of the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup. 

ALSO READ: Bangladesh Govt Boycott ICC T20 World Cup 2026

'It's Pakistan instigating them not to participate'

“I think it's foolish, I can say that because India is not going to lose anything. Bangladesh is going to lose everything because not participating in such a big tournament from the commercial point of view, Bangladesh is going to be quite a loss,” Madan Lal told India Today.

"I think it's Pakistan instigating them not to participate in this tournament. They just want to bring India down," he added.

"They are playing in Mumbai, and it is one of the safest places in India. It doesn't make any difference to the Indian board or anything, but I think it's all politics, Pakistan and Bangladesh playing their part very strongly because they want to let India down, and that's the thing," he concluded. 

ALSO READ: Sport Adviser Asif Nazrul Conveys Bangladesh's Stand On T20 World Cup

Will PCB Pullout Now? 

As per reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board had said that they would back Bangladesh in their stance. So the question now is - will Pakistan too pullout of the tournament? What is being understood is that the PCB is playing to the gallery and are not going to go the Bangladesh way.