LAHORE: Pakistan have deferred their decision on participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 till "Friday (January 30) or next Monday (February 2)", according to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Naqvi met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday to discuss the matter, two days after he said Pakistan's participation in the tournament would be left up to the government.
"Had a productive meeting with the Prime Minister ... Shehbaz Sharif," Naqvi tweeted.
"Briefed him on the ICC matter, and he directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table. It was agreed that the final decision [on participation] will be taken either on Friday or next Monday."
It is understood that an outright boycott of the T20 World Cup is not the only option the PCB is considering. There has been speculation about the possibility of specifically refusing to play their game against India on February 15 in Colombo as a more targeted protest.
The PCB has not publicly commented on the matter, though a day after Naqvi's statement, the PCB announced Pakistan's squad for the T20 World Cup and chief selector Aaqib Javed said a decision on the nature of Pakistan's participation would be left to the government.
Should Pakistan hold off on a decision till next week, they would be leaving it exceedingly late.
Pakistan's first game at the tournament is the T20 World Cup opener, against Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, just four days out from the PCB's potential decision day.
Pakistan's participation in the T20 World Cup was thrown into uncertainty when Naqvi came out sharply critical of the ICC's decision to remove Bangladesh from the tournament after they refused to travel to India, and demanded an alternate venue. After a protracted standoff, the ICC officially announced Bangladesh would be replaced at the tournament by Scotland.
Naqvi responded to that by accusing the ICC of "double standards" favouring India, terming what happened to Bangladesh "an injustice", and casting doubt on Pakistan's own participation in the tournament.
Pakistan backed Bangladesh's stance in Wednesday's ICC Board virtual meeting, saying there was a precedent of relocating India's matches on security fears from Pakistan in last year's Champions Trophy. Then India, who have not toured Pakistan since 2008, played all their matches in Dubai.
