Pak Great Triggers "Viewership Discussion" Over Bangladesh's T20 World Cup Axe, Gets Fact Checked
Mohammad Yousaf was fact-checked on social media over his claims on the T20 World Cup row involving ICC and Bangladesh.
Mohammad Yousaf, one of the greatest cricketers to have played for Pakistan, triggered a 'viewership loss discussion' on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with his post on Bangladesh's ouster from the T20 World Cup 2026. The International Cricket Council (ICC) deemed Bangladesh's demand for a change in their venues in the tournament 'unreasonable', having found no credible security threat that their government claimed. Seeing Bangladesh being replaced by Scotland in the biennial event, Yousaf claimed that such a move would lead to a huge loss in viewership for the ICC. But he was fact-checked.
In his post, Yousaf wrote: "The combined cricket viewership of New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Nepal, Netherlands, Ireland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan is broadly equivalent to the viewership Bangladesh generates on its own.
10 nations combined:178 million
Bangladesh alone: 176 million
In a sport driven by global audiences, sidelining Bangladesh's legitimate security concerns raises serious questions about consistency and governance. When accommodation becomes selective, fairness disappears. Cricket cannot be administered by influence - only by principle."
However, a community note fact-checked Yousaf's claims.
"The figures cited (178 million combined, 176 million for Bangladesh) match the populations of those countries, not cricket viewership. Global viewership shares place Bangladesh at 4-5%, with Australia having high household penetration," the community note read.
The combined cricket viewership of
— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) January 26, 2026
New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Nepal, Netherlands, Ireland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan
is broadly equivalent to the viewership Bangladesh generates on its own.
10 nations combined:178 million
Bangladesh alone: 176 million
In…
Pakistan's Bizarre T20 World Cup Stance
Since Bangladesh were booted out of the T20 World Cup - starting on February 07 in India and Sri Lanka - Pakistan have been contemplating a potential withdrawal from the tournament in solidarity with the Bangla Tigers.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi also met the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday to discuss the matter and finalise the stance on whether to participate in the tournament or not.
While Pakistan government has postponed its stand on the matter by a week, a potential withdrawal from the tournament could see them face global isolation and severe sanctions, which would leave the country's cricket board in financial ruin.
Bangladesh Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team