The Pakistan cricket team will not face India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, following a decision announced by the Government of Pakistan on Sunday evening. The move brings an end to days of speculation surrounding Pakistan’s participation in the high-profile fixture.

While confirming the boycott of the India match, the government made it clear that Pakistan will take part in the remainder of the tournament, scheduled to run from February 7 to March 8.

“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 government stated in an official announcement.

The decision reportedly came shortly after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore on Sunday evening. Until then, the PCB had kept its stance open-ended, indicating that a final call would be taken either on January 30 or February 2. However, the announcement was made earlier than expected.

Pakistan’s squad is understood to be travelling to Sri Lanka on Monday, where all of their World Cup matches are scheduled to be played.

The boycott is believed to be a protest against the International Cricket Council’s refusal to relocate Bangladesh’s World Cup matches from India—an issue that Pakistan strongly supported. At the ICC Board meeting, the PCB was the sole member backing Bangladesh’s request, with Naqvi later stating that an injustice had been done. Notably, the Pakistan government did not officially cite this issue as the reason behind skipping the February 15 match.

Attention now turns to the ICC and how it will respond to Pakistan’s decision to forfeit what is widely regarded as the tournament’s most commercially valuable and high-profile fixture. The world governing body’s next steps will be closely watched.

Pakistan have been placed in Group A alongside India, the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands. They are set to begin their campaign against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, followed by matches against the USA on February 10, India on February 15, and Namibia on February 18.

Under pre-tournament arrangements, all of Pakistan’s matches in the 20-team competition have been allotted to Sri Lanka, the joint host of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.