UPDATE 2-Cricket-Pakistan to boycott T20 World Cup match against India

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 post on the government's official X account said without elaborating on reasons behind the decision. Pakistan ‍are scheduled to play their Group A matches in Sri Lanka in keeping with their policy of not touring India due to geopolitical tensions.

Pakistan will ‌boycott their February 15 match of the Twenty20 World Cup against arch-rivals India, the Pakistan government said on Sunday while approving the team's participation in the ⁠global showpiece. "The government ... 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 post on the government's official X account said without elaborating on reasons behind the decision.

Pakistan ‍are scheduled to play their Group A matches in Sri Lanka in keeping with their policy of not touring India due to geopolitical tensions. Bilateral cricket remains suspended between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who engaged in a military conflict that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged ⁠war last ‌year.

Their fraught political relations ⁠prompted the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) to broker an arrangement allowing them to play at a neutral venue when their neighbour hosts ‍a global tournament. The 2009 champions had earlier announced their squad for the 20-team tournament beginning on February 7, maintaining ​their participation was subject to government approval.

Their decision to boycott the India match is a serious blow ⁠to the viewership of the tournament because an India-Pakistan clash remains cricket's greatest blockbuster. This is not the first example of geopolitical tension ⁠affecting the tournament though.

Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in the global showpiece following their refusal to travel to India over safety concerns. The latest setback is a continuation of the soured India-Pakistan relations, which manifested ⁠in last year's Asia Cup in Dubai.

India beat Pakistan three times in the tournament, including in the September ⁠28 final, but refused ‌to shake hands with their opponents and refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, who happens to be Pakistan's interior minister. (Additional reporting ⁠by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Writing by Amlan Chakraborty; Editing by ‍Alexander Smith and Christian Radnedge)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)