Pakistan cave under ICC pressure, announce 15-man squad for T20 World Cup 2026 after sanctions warning

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi's recent public statements in support of Bangladesh have seemed to irk the global cricketing body, which is looking to take action if Pakistan continues on the same path, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The report notes that the International Cricket Council (ICC) could impose sanctions, including suspension of bilateral series, denial of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for foreign players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and exclusion from the Asia Cup if Pakistan does not participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Quoting a source inside the ICC, the report stated, “If Pakistan also decides not to play the T20 World Cup, the ICC will impose a series of sanctions, including no bilateral series with any international team, no NOC for foreign players in PSL, and no Asia Cup participation.”

Miffed at the rejection of Bangladesh's request, Naqvi said, as quoted by Dawn,

“Bangladesh has been treated unfairly. I said the same in the board meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC). You cannot have double standards, where one country can make whatever decision whenever and do the total opposite for another country.”

“That is why we have taken the stand that Bangladesh is being treated unfairly and should be allowed to play the World Cup in any case. They are a major stakeholder and this injustice should not be done,” he added.

On participation in the World Cup, Naqvi said, "Our stance [on playing the T20 World Cup] will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me. The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I'll be able to give you our final decision. It's the government's decision. We obey them, not the ICC."

Notably, Pakistan will be playing its matches of the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, and the PCB had also urged the ICC to implement a similar hybrid model for Bangladesh. However, the ICC Board decided to rule against the request, stating that making the change so close to the tournament would create massive logistical and scheduling conflicts.

Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (w/k), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (w/k), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (w/k) and Usman Tariq.