Pakistan will boycott their Twenty20 World Cup match against India on 15 February, the Pakistan government said on Sunday while approving the team’s participation in the tournament.
“The government … grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the World T20, however, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match against India,” the post on the government’s X account said.
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 neighbours, who engaged in a military conflict that nearly snowballed into a fully fledged war last year.
Their fraught political relations prompted the governing International Cricket Council 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 7 February, maintaining their participation was subject to government approval.
Their decision to boycott the India match is a serious blow to the tournament because an India-Pakistan clash remains cricket’s greatest blockbuster.
This is not the first example of political tension affecting the tournament. Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in the global showpiece after their refusal to travel to India over safety concerns.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 28 September 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.
