No Sanction Likely For Pakistan After India Boycott At T20 World Cup: Ex-ICC President. There's A Big Catch

Former International Cricket Council (ICC) president Ehsan Mani, who has formerly served as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), says the country may not face sanctions after its government announced that the team will boycott the February 15 T20 World Cup match against India. Although the Pakistan government did not give any clear reason for its decision to not play against India, it is largely being viewed as an act of solidarity after Bangladesh was barred from the marquee event. Bangladesh had demanded that its matches be shifted out of India, but the request was outrightly rejected by the ICC.

Mani, who served as ICC president from 2003 to 2006, cited the example of India not travelling to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

"There can't be any sanctions against Pakistan if it follows government instructions. That was the basis on which India refused to play its 2025 Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan. You can't have double standards. So, unfortunately, again I come back to the fact that instead of dealing with the problem, the ICC just stood there as a bystander," Mani told Sportstar.

"You left the door open for any country to get its government involved - especially knowing that the chairman of the PCB is a serving minister of the government."

However, Mani's argument may not hold when the ICC decides on Pakistan's future regarding the boycott. During the Champions Trophy 2025 - where Pakistan was the designated host - India refused to travel to Pakistan but still played all its matches, including one against Pakistan, at a neutral venue in the UAE. Here, Pakistan is refusing to play India at a neutral venue - Sri Lanka - despite the schedule having been announced a long time ago.

Topics mentioned in this article

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