'Pakistan No Longer Dependent On ICC': Ex-PCB Chief's Bold 'T20 World Cup' Claim

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi made a bizarre claim regarding the Pakistan government's U-turn on boycotting the T20 World Cup 2026 game against India. Pakistan had announced that they will not play the group stage against India in Colombo on Sunday but following negotiations, involving the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), they decided to change their stance completely. However, Sethi claimed that it was the ICC that stepped back in the standoff, not Pakistan. 

"In fact, it's the ICC that has taken a step back. I think the ICC has decided to back off a little bit, give Bangladesh some space. It was a very considered decision from Pakistan. They looked at all the angles. They knew that there could be no sanctions (for boycotting India match). They consulted the top lawyers at home and abroad," Sethi told India Today.

"And there are precedents that made it clear to them that they were on a very strong wicket. And at best, they would lose a point, no more than that. And I think the ICC also realised that, which is why then the ICC got into motion and made overtures. That's how Imran Khawaja, the deputy chief, got into action. That's how the Bangladeshis got into action. That's how they came to Pakistan to negotiate so that Pakistan could play this match," he added.

Sethi went on to say that the PCB is no longer dependent on the ICC for sustenance due to the rising popularity of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the past few years.

"And so as far as the question of resources is concerned, there was a time when Pakistan used to rely on ICC resources for sustenance like many of the other boards do, but not anymore. Now that the PSL has taken off in a big way, we get more money from the PSL than we get from the ICC. So Pakistan is well looked after by its own resources. So there was never an issue - never an issue. And I think, between you and me, going forward, maybe in March, you will see some other concessions that have been extracted from the ICC," he said.

Topics mentioned in this article

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