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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has categorically rejected claims made by Indian media that it wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) refusing to play the T20 World Cup group stage match against India on February 15.
PCB spokesman Amir Mir, clarifying the matter, stated that the board has not made any such contact with the ICC.
“We reject the false claims made by Indian journalist Vikrant Gupta,” Mir said.
He further accused the Indian media of spreading misinformation, adding, “Have patience; it will soon be revealed who actually contacted whom.”
“As usual, sections of Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t,” he added.
The development follows senior Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta’s claim that the PCB had reached out to the ICC to initiate dialogue over the World Cup stalemate.
“PCB has now reached out to ICC for a dialogue on the India-Pakistan World Cup after the ICC replied to their official communication: PCB first wrote to ICC saying they were pulling out of that game implying the ‘Force Majeure’, attaching their Govt’s tweet,” Gupta post read on X.
“The ICC then wrote back, asking what factors under ‘Force Majeure’ were they trying to imply, and telling PCB of legal ramifications and sanctions the ICC could hit them with,” it added.
“The PCB has now approached ICC for a dialogue to ‘resolve’ the issue.”
A week earlier, a post issued by the Government of Pakistan’s official X account said the government had granted permission to the Pakistan team to travel to Sri Lanka for the tournament, but instructed that “the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India”.
The statement did not specify a reason for that decision.
“The Government of the 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,” the statement read.
It is understood that the PCB is yet to write to the ICC to inform them of the boycott.
