Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh's Youth and Sports Advisor, has officially thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his country's decision to boycott India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 group stage match on February 15.
In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, Nazrul expressed his appreciation for the stance taken by Pakistan government.
"Thank you, Pakistan," Nazrul wrote, explicitly linking Pakistan's boycott to a protest against Bangladesh's removal from the tournament.
He quoted PM Sharif’s cabinet remarks, where the Pakistani leader stated that his country must "stand tall" with Bangladesh after ICC rejected their request to shift their matches outside India, to a neutral venue.
"Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said his country has decided to boycott the India match in protest of removing Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup. We will not play the match against India, he said to cabinet members on Wednesday. Because there should be no politics on the playground. We took this decision very thoughtfully. We should totally stand by Bangladesh. I think this is a very appropriate decision," he added.
Context of Conflict
Bangladesh was replaced in T20 World Cup 2026 tournament by Scotland after Bangladeshi government refused to allow their national team to travel to India due to security concerns.
Bangladesh had asked for their group matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka, but ICC maintained that since the event was co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, teams were expected to play at assigned venues.
Pakistan then announced that while they would play their other matches in Sri Lanka, they would forfeit the Feb 15th game against India to show regional solidarity with their neighbors, Bangladesh.
ICC's Stern Warning
Despite the mutual appreciation between Dhaka and Islamabad, International Cricket Council (ICC) remains unmoved. The world body has warned that this "selective participation" is a breach of the Participation Agreement.
ICC cautioned that such moves could have "long-term implications" for the cricket ecosystem in both Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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