World Cup winner blames Pakistan government on team's humiliating defeat against India in T20 World Cup 2026

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes that the Pakistan government's decision to boycott their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against India has affected the players ahead of the high-voltage clash. Notably, Pakistan government earlier refused to play against India, but they took u-turn after having conversations with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Michael Clarke on India vs Pakistan

Clarke, who was a part of Australia's 2015 World Cup-winning squad, believes that there is a significant gap between India and Pakistan, and that some of Pakistan’s stars may be in the last stages of their T20 international career.

ALSO READ: 14 ex-captains including Gavaskar, Kapil write to PAK govt. appealing for Imran Khan's better medical treatment

“I think now, there is a distinct gap between the two teams,” said Clarke on the ‘Beyond23 Cricket Podcast’. “India have been ahead for a long time now and there is a significant gap. I don’t know what Pakistan do. If you look through their list, there might be a few of their more senior players who have been good, but in regards to T20 cricket, this might be their final hurrah. They might look at the PSL and some young talent coming through there.”

“I expected India to win. It has been a bit of a circus in regards to Pakistan playing the tournament but not playing the India game. So from a player’s perspective, it doesn’t help, but they were outperformed. India is a much better team than Pakistan in this format and have been for a while now,” he said.

ALSO READ: Shami takes career’s maiden 8-wkt haul in Ranji Trophy semifinal, sends another reminder to selectors

Why Pakistan wanted to boycott the T20 World Cup clash against India?

At first, the Pakistan government had said that although the team would take part in the T20 World Cup, they would not play their match against India. After that statement, several quiet discussions were held behind the scenes. Officials from Sri Lanka Cricket, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the Pakistan Cricket Board, and the ICC were involved in these talks. The issue began when the ICC turned down Bangladesh’s request to move their matches from India to Sri Lanka. In the end, Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland.

On the field, Pakistan had a tough outing against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Ishan Kishan played a brilliant innings, scoring 77 runs from just 40 balls and helping India reach 175 for 7. Pakistan struggled during their chase and were bowled out for 114. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy each picked up two wickets.

After the heavy defeat, several former Pakistan cricketers suggested that senior players such as Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi should be left out of the T20 team.