The Pakistan government has ordered the Pakistan Cricket Board to not play India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. The decision was announced by the Pakistan government on Sunday evening, ending speculation that had continued since last week. The government, however, made it clear that the team will participate in the February 7-March 8 World Cup. PCB is yet to send a formal notice regarding this stance to the International Cricket Council.

"The Government of Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026. However, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February, 2026 against India," a Government of Pakistan post announced.

The announcement, it is understood, comes hours after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore on Sunday evening.

The PCB had kept Pakistan's participation in the World Cup open-ended, stating that a decision would be made on Friday (January 30) or Monday (February 2). However, the announcement came on Sunday evening. The Pakistan team, it is understood, will fly to Sri Lanka on Monday.

The PCB's decision comes in protest against the International Cricket Council's refusal to move Bangladesh's World Cup matches out of India, a demand Pakistan strongly backed. The PCB was the lone votary for Bangladesh's cause at the ICC Board meeting on the matter and Naqvi had said that injustice was done to Bangladesh. For the record, the Pakistan Government, of course, did not provide the reason for the boycott of the February 15 game.

The point of relevance now is the ICC's next move. How the world body will view the boycott of a game that is arguably the most high-profile and commercially significant match of the World Cup will be watched with curiosity. The ball is now in the ICC's court. For now, the ICC has issued a statement mentioning that it has 'taken note of the statement of the Pakistan government' and while it awaits an official confirmation from the PCB, it expects the Pakistan board to 'explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.'

Pakistan are clubbed in Group A along with the USA, Namibia and the Netherlands besides of course arch-rivals India. They are scheduled to play the World Cup opener, against the Netherlands, in Colombo on February 7 morning.

Their second game is against the USA on February 10, followed by the India game on February 15 and they round up the league stage with the match against Namibia on February 18. As per the pre-World Cup arrangement, all of Pakistan's games have been awarded to Sri Lanka, the joint hosts of the 20-team championship.