ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan will decide by next Monday whether to participate in the T20 World Cup after disagreeing with the International Cricket Council’s move to bring Scotland into the tournament in place of Bangladesh.
The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who met with prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, wrote on X that they had held a “productive meeting” over the World Cup issues.
“He (Sharif) directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table,” Naqvi said. “It was agreed the final decision (on Pakistan’s participation) will be taken either on Friday or next Monday.”
On Saturday, the ICC included Scotland in Group C after rejecting Bangladesh’s request to shift its games from India to co-host Sri Lanka due to security concerns.
Political and sporting relations between the two nations were also strained when Bangladesh paceman Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team earlier this month by order of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
“You can’t have double standards,” Naqvi said. “You can’t say for one country (India), they can do whatever they want, and for the others to have to do the complete opposite.
“That’s why we’ve taken this stand and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket.”
Pakistan, which also has strained political relations with India, is scheduled to play its World Cup games in Sri Lanka.
The 20-nation tournament is to be played from Feb. 7-Mar. 8.
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