What Is 'Force Majeure' Clause That Pakistan Invoked To Justify India Boycott At T20 World Cup - Explained

A few days back, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) about wanting to invoke the force majeure clause after it boycotted the February 15 group-stage match against India at the T20 World Cup. According to a report in news agency PTI, the PCB cited the government's stance, which barred the team from the February 15 clash in Colombo, as the reason. The ICC has now sought an explanation from Pakistan on how the force majeure clause can be invoked to justify the team's refusal to play the T20 World Cup match against India after the PCB attempted to wriggle out of the situation by placing the onus on its government.

So, what is force majeure?

Force majeure is a contractual provision that excuses a party from fulfilling its obligations due to extraordinary events beyond its control-such as war, natural disasters, government actions, or public emergencies.

For the clause to apply, the affected party must demonstrate that the event was unforeseeable, unavoidable, and that it took all reasonable steps to mitigate the impact. Mere inconvenience or political preference does not ordinarily satisfy the test.

Pakistan's justification

The Pakistan government had announced that its team would boycott only the India fixture to support Bangladesh, who were shown the door for refusing to play in India due to their "security concerns."

Pakistan will play its remaining matches.

The ICC has sent a series of queries, asking the PCB to demonstrate what efforts it made to mitigate the situation, explore alternative options, or seek exemptions before opting for non-participation.

It is learnt that the global body also set out the conditions under which force majeure can legitimately be triggered, the evidence required for withdrawal from a scheduled match, and the wider sporting, commercial, and governance consequences of such a step.

The ICC has also underlined the damages it could potentially claim if the invocation is found invalid.

In its reply, the ICC has pointed out that selective participation strikes at the core premise of a global tournament and could expose the PCB to breach-of-contract claims as well as disciplinary action under ICC regulations. 

With PTI inputs 

Topics mentioned in this article

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