ICC To Hold 'Back-Channel Talks' With Pakistan Over T20 World Cup Row? Report Reveals Major Details

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked deputy chairman Imran Khwaja to hold back-channel talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over its T20 World Cup 2026 stance, according to a report by Revsportz. Khwaja, who represents the Singapore Cricket Association, has been given the responsibility of convincing Pakistan to play their group stage match against India on February 15. Pakistan announced on Sunday that they will take part in the T20 World Cup but will boycott their match against India. However, the ICC has not received any official communication from the PCB regarding the matter and Khawaja will reportedly try to 'play the peacemaker' amid the ongoing standoff.

The ICC has warned the Pakistan Cricket Board that it faces the prospect of legal action from T20 World Cup's official broadcasters JioStar for boycotting its February 15 game against India, a PCB source said on Tuesday.

Pakistan decided to boycott the match in Colombo on February 15 on instructions of their government but haven't yet officially specified the reasons to ICC.

As reported by PTI, there is a possibility that the ICC will withhold the entire annual revenue share of Pakistan, which is around USD 35 million and pay the broadcasters from that purse.

A PCB source informed that although chairman Mohsin Naqvi had taken advice from the board's legal experts before briefing PM Shehbaz Sharif on the issue last week, the board is bracing for some serious consequences.

"If Pakistan doesn't relent and play against India, not only will they face financial penalties, perhaps a lawsuit from broadcasters but also any efforts to go to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) are likely to fail," a PCB source told PTI.

ICC's DRC is an internal committee which doesn't hear appeals against the decisions made by its own board.

"The PCB might face problems regardless of their government directive to not play India as they are playing all their matches at a neutral venue (Sri Lanka) as per their wishes and not in India," another PCB source said.

"Secondly, while the Indian government has not given permission to its team to play in Pakistan, it has not stopped them from playing against Pakistan at neutral venues in Asia Cup or ICC events even after the May conflict," the board source, who tracks Naqvi closely, added.

(WIth PTI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team BCCI Pakistan Cricket Board International Cricket Council T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket