 "PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has refused to confirm Pakistan's participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup, threatening to drag the matter until days before the tournament's opening game. AP")
The Pakistan Cricket Board appears set to drag the issue involving the senior men’s team’s participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup even further. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, after all, has indicated that the board will be making a final decision on their participation “either on Friday or next Monday” following a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Naqvi had supported Bangladesh’s demand to have their T20 World Cup matches moved out of India, and even suggested that Pakistan might reconsider its participation in the tournament. Bangladesh has since been replaced by Scotland after the International Cricket Council refused to accept the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s demand, while Pakistan has gone on to unveil its squad for the tournament.
PCB chief Naqvi, however, added that the squad announcement was not a guarantee of Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, and that they were open to all options – including boycotting just their group-stage meeting with arch-rivals India in Colombo on 15 February, if not the entire tournament.
PCB directed to keep ‘all options on the table’ by Pakistan PM
Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s Interior Minister, added that the final decision on the country’s participation in the T20 World Cup would be taken by PM Sharif.
“Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday,” Naqvi wrote in a post on X on Monday.
Quick Reads
View AllThe ICC will be left with less than a week to make alternate arrangements if the PCB makes its final decision next Monday, 2 February. The Jay Shah-led governing body, however, has threatened the Pakistani board with dire consequences should they attempt any last-minute theatrics, including suspending them from participating in bilateral competitions.
Naqvi, who is also the current Asian Cricket Council president, has been at loggerheads with the BCCI for the better part of his tenure as PCB chief. Back in September, he had controversially taken the Asia Cup trophy with him and locked it at the ACC’s Dubai headquarters after the Indian team refused to accept the silverware from him following their victory over Pakistan in the final.
As of January, the Pakistani cricket chief is yet to hand the trophy over to the BCCI or the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team, having instead moved it to a different location.