Former PCB chief Khalid Mahmood urges Pakistan to boycott T20 World Cup

2026-01-27 - 09:54

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Khalid Mahmood said on Tuesday that Pakistan should boycott the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 following Bangladesh’s exclusion from the tournament. With less than a month remaining before the start of the 20-team T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed Scotland as Bangladesh’s replacement after Dhaka refused to send its team to India over security concerns. According to reports in Indian media, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could face serious financial and sporting repercussions if the national team withdraws from the mega event. The reports added that Pakistan’s position is being viewed within ICC circles as a pressure tactic rather than a firm decision to pull out of the tournament. Speaking to ARY News, Khalid Mahmood said that unfortunately India has completely taken control of the ICC. He pointed out that the ICC chairman, Jay Shah, is Indian, and that several other Indian officials hold influential positions within the governing body. Calling Bangladesh’s concerns valid, he questioned how players can be expected to compete in a country where they feel unsafe and face security threats. Mahmood recalled the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, after which several countries, including England and Australia, refused to tour Pakistan. He asked whether Pakistan had protested those decisions at the time or whether the ICC had supported Pakistan’s position that it would ensure security to visiting teams. “The ICC did not make even a fraction of an effort to convince teams to visit Pakistan,” he said, adding that these precedents show the ICC should address Bangladesh’s concerns on players’ security in India. Mahmood said Pakistan should stand in support of Bangladesh on the issue, stressing that other countries are neither slaves to India nor subjugated, but are instead driven by financial interests. He further stated that an emergency ICC meeting should have been convened, and Pakistan should have raised Bangladesh’s issue at that forum. Khalid Mahmood strongly opposed Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup under the current circumstances.