Pakistan's boycott of a game against India looms over cricket's T20 World Cup

With a boycott looming, the Twenty20 World Cup may be the first major International Cricket Council tournament in 14 years to miss a head-to-head contest between traditional rivals India and Pakistan.

The T20 event opens Saturday with Pakistan against Netherlands, and with India finishing off the Day 1 program against the United States.

It's the scheduled Feb. 15 encounter in Colombo between Pakistan and India that has plunged the 20-team tournament into crisis.

Pakistan's government has refused permission for its national cricket team to take the field in marquee Group A game.

There’s a chance the countries might face off in the semifinals or final, but its unclear whether the cricketers will be asked to extend the boycott into the playoffs.

The sport’s global organizers has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to “explore a mutually acceptable resolution” which “protects the interests of all stakeholders.”

After concluding a 3-0 Twenty20 series win over Australia on Sunday, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said he will follow the government’s instructions.

“It’s not our decision. We can’t do anything about it,” Agha said. “We will do whatever our government and the (PCB) chairman say.”

The government decision reportedly was in support of Pakistan's cricket board, which backed Bangladesh after the ICC refused its request to shift its games from India to Sri Lanka because of security concerns.

The ICC Board, of which Bangladesh is a full member, decided to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the draw.

Pakistan cricket chairman Mohsin Naqvi subsequently accused the ICC of “double-standards.”

Dates and details

The 20 teams are divided into four groups, with the top two from each qualifying for the Super Eights. Two teams from each group in the second round will advance to semifinals on March 4 and 5. The final is set for March 8.

India will host games in its five major cities New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Co-host Sri Lanka, where Pakistan will play all its games, will host matches at Pallekele and two venues in Colombo.

Here's a breakdown of each group:

GROUP A

Pakistan, which will concede two competition points if it goes ahead with forfeiting the game against India, can't afford a slip up against three associate countries in the group — Netherlands, Namibia and the United States.

The U.S. shocked Pakistan at Dallas in the last Twenty20 World Cup in 2024 with a victory in a thrilling super over that eventually led to Pakistan's group-stage exit.

In 2022, the Netherlands also sprung a surprise in Australia when its thrilling win against South Africa paved the way for Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals.

Defending champion India is favorite after warming up with a 4-1 series victory over New Zealand, capped with a massive total of 271 in the last game.

Group B

Australia is favorite to advance from a group that also includes co-host Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe.

But the Australians are coming off a reality check following a 3-0 series loss to Pakistan in Lahore on slow spin-friendly wickets of Gaddafi Stadium – including its biggest-ever defeat by 111 runs in the last game.

The 2021 champions have failed to qualify for the semifinals in the last two T20 World Cups.

Sri Lanka was last to finalize its squad, tinkering with the batting lineup until the last minute. Dhananjaya de Silva was left out while Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Perera were recalled. The co-host will be banking more on its premier spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to make an impact, with the wickets likely to suit the ace leg-spinner.

Oman, playing in its fourth T20 World Cup, will be led by the recalled Jatinder Singh. Zimbabwe has bolstered its squad by including Graeme Cremer, the 39-year-old leg-spinner who returned to international cricket last October after a seven-year absence.

Ireland, led by veteran Paul Stirling, has retained 12 players from the 2024 edition. Ireland, playing in its ninth Twenty20 World Cup, has some happy memories when in 2009 and 2022 it qualified for the second round and also beat West Indies and England.

Group C

England and West Indies are expected to advance from a group containing first-timer Italy, Nepal and Scotland.

England has loads of experienced, including Jos Buttler, captain Harry Brook, paceman Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Phil Salt and Adil Rashid, in its bid to replicate its 2022 success.

Two-time champion West Indies comes into the tournament after losing back-to-back series against Afghanistan and South Africa. Led by Shai Hope, West Indies has plenty of experienced power-hitters. Coach Darren Sammy is also banking on youngster Quenin Sampson to shine in the middle-order.

Nepal went winless in the last tournament but has improved, with 23-year-old all-rounder Rohit Paudel showing lots of composure at a young age.

Scotland, a last-minute inclusion in the draw, has Afghan-born fast bowler Zainullah Ihsan, former New Zealand international Tom Bruce and a Pakistan-heritage Safyaan Sharif. Ihsan and Sharif made it to India after visa delays which Sharif described as “hell of a week.”

Italy’s long awaited debut in a major cricket tournament will come Scotland at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Group D

Afghanistan, New Zealand and South Africa will be competing for two spots in the next stage from a group that also contains Associate nations Canada and UAE.

Afghanistan had a memorable tournament in 2024 before losing to South Africa in the semifinals. With pitches likely to suit spinners in Sri Lanka and India, Afghanistan has one of the strongest spin combinations with T20 leading bowler Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman spearheading the attack.

South Africa went close to winning its maiden Twenty20 World Cup in 2024 before failing to India in the final. Quinton de Kock, who came out of his retirement last year, has been in ominous form. Veteran David Miller has recovered from injury and is declared for the tournament.

Canada will be making its second successive appearance in the tournament after winning all the six games in the Americas Regional Qualifier. Canada finished fourth in the group stage in the last edition when it beat Ireland by 12 runs.

UAE featured in the 2014 and 2022 editions but didn't go beyond the group stage.

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