ICC Offered Pakistan 'Concessions' To Make Dramatic U-Turn On India Boycott At T20 World Cup: Report

The ICC has promised a few concessions to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for ending its boycott of the India game, but these will only be announced after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, a source said on Tuesday. "Whatever concessions the PCB has received from the ICC for ending the boycott will only be made public after the end of the T20 World Cup," a PCB source told PTI on Tuesday. The ICC has already announced that the Bangladesh Cricket Board will not face any sanctions from the global body and will also be awarded an ICC event in the 2028-2031 cycle (preferably the U-19 Men's World Cup).

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the national team would boycott the T20 World Cup group league match against India in Colombo on February 15 in solidarity with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which was replaced after refusing to play its matches in India, citing security concerns.

After hectic parleys and back-channel talks-which also included intervention from Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which requested Shehbaz Sharif to reconsider the stance in view of broader interests-the boycott ended on Monday night.

"The call from Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake played a major role in ending the boycott, as did a briefing from some senior government and establishment figures who have been closely following the developments," another source said.

The PCB has now also been given clearance to play India if both countries face each other again in the later stages of the World Cup.

Another source said that the Prime Minister, who is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB, was briefed on what Pakistan could gain if the government issued a formal notification against playing India.

"The ICC now has a clear understanding with Naqvi that no further details of the discussions held with the PCB, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and other boards will be made public," the source said.

While the ICC's statement on Monday confirmed that Bangladesh would not be sanctioned for its stance, it did not mention what the PCB would gain from ending the impasse.

There has been speculation about Naqvi pushing for an increase in the PCB's share of ICC revenues, but another insider confirmed that such a change would only be possible after approval from the ICC board for the next financial cycle.

He added that during the discussions, Naqvi argued that there was no reason Pakistan and India could not play home-and-away matches in the ICC World Test Championship at neutral venues, as they already compete in other ICC white-ball events.

However, there remains a catch: only the WTC final is a direct ICC event, while all other series are bilateral contests for which points are awarded.

Topics mentioned in this article

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