Veteran India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane feels that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) doesn't have the "guts" to pull out from the 2026 T20 World Cup. There is still uncertainty over Pakistan's participation in the tournament as PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi had recently said that the final call on this matter will be taken by their government. He had also revealed that the decision will out by the next week.
Amid the standoff between PCB and ICC, Rahane has claimed that Pakistan will not be boycotting the World Cup. He is not buying into PCB's threats towards the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“I don’t think they will do it. They don’t have the guts," Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
PCB had first dragged themselves into the drama between ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and had firmly said that they would boycott the tournament if Bangladesh exited. Naqvi had even accused the ICC of double standards after Bangladesh's ouster and had once again threatened to not participate in the competition.
PCB to face consequences?
The PCB can face severe consequences if they pull out from the T20 World Cup. According to a recent report by The Indian Express, the ICC have threatened to impose sanctions on Pakistan including a ban from competing in the Asia Cup if they do go ahead with their boycott of the competition.
Not just this, according to a report by Hindustan Times, the global cricket body can recall Bangladesh if Pakistan exits the tournament. If this does end up hap;pening then Bangladesh will play their share of matches in Sri Lanka just like how Pakistan were scheduled to do.
Pakistan's squad already announced
Meanwhile, despite threating to boycott the T20 World Cup, Pakistan have already announced their squad for the tournament. The selectors have taken some bold calls, snubbing the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Haris. They have also called back Babar Azam into the fray despite his horrid debut season in the Big Bash League (BBL). It remains to be seen if the Men in Green will participate in the tournament.
Pakistan's squad for 2026 T20 World Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.