Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi faced an uncomfortable moment on Monday when questioned about Pakistan’s decision to withdraw its boycott threat against the India match at the T20 World Cup.
A reporter asked Naqvi whether Pakistan had managed to persuade the ICC to meet any of its demands in return for dropping the boycott. The question was posed during the auction of the Pakistan Super League franchise Multan.
Naqvi avoided addressing the issue directly. Instead, he repeatedly stressed that the discussions were held in Bangladesh’s interest.
“You must have seen Bangladesh’s statement,” Naqvi said. “Bangladesh has requested that Pakistan play the match. Clearly, their issues have been resolved; that is why they made this request.”
The meeting took place in Lahore on Sunday. It involved ICC officials, Naqvi, and Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam Bulbul. According to Naqvi, the outcome was always meant to benefit Bangladesh.
When pressed further on whether Pakistan had gained anything from the talks, the PCB chief again deflected.
“We took a stand for Bangladesh,” he said. “It was their matter. We didn’t do anything for ourselves.”
The exchange came just hours before the Pakistan government officially confirmed that the boycott threat had been withdrawn. The senior men’s team was given clearance to face India in their scheduled T20 World Cup clash on 15th February.
However, sources told India Today that Pakistan had raised as many as five demands during the meeting with ICC officials. The aim was to resolve the week-long deadlock over the India game.
According to the report, the ICC rejected three of those demands. One of them was Pakistan’s push to resume bilateral cricket with India.
Despite the denials from the PCB chief, the standoff has ended. Pakistan will now play India as scheduled at the World Cup.
With that issue settled, Pakistan stepped back. The government cited the “spirit of cricket” for its decision. It also pointed to appeals from friendly nations such as Sri Lanka and the UAE.
Publicly, the language was about sportsmanship. Privately, the numbers told a different story.
Industry estimates suggested cancelling the match would have cost around USD 250 million in a single day. The financial hit was simply too big.
For the PCB, the situation was stark. The loss from one boycotted game would have been almost seven times its annual operating budget. That made the decision unavoidable.
By agreeing to play, Pakistan avoids financial isolation. The ICC, in turn, protects the commercial core of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
