India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 Boycott Row Live Updates: 'Pakistan Are Scared' - India Great's Brutal Verdict

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that Pakistan's decision to boycott the high-profile match doesn't surprise him at all. He also argued that Pakistan don't have a genuine cause to pull out of the contest.

"This is not a surprise. After the ICC decided not to accept Bangladesh's request to shift their matches, only two boards voted in favor: Bangladesh and the Pakistan Cricket Board. Pakistan also said at that point that they might not play the tournament. So, it was pretty clear that skipping the entire event would cost them heavily, but boycotting the match against India doesn't come as a surprise. There were hints they were looking to do something like this," Gavaskar told India Today.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could reportedly make a U-turn on its T20 World Cup stance.

According to a report by PTI, PCB chief Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan, might just make a U-turn once the general elections are held in Bangladesh on February 12 and a democratic government takes charge instead of the present one headed by Muhammad Yunus.

Pakistan will have two days to reconsider its stance as the elections in Bangladesh will take place on February 12, while the match against India is scheduled for February 15.

"Naqvi more than a cricket administrator is a politician, who is not one bit bothered about the welfare of the national team. He is trying to score a brownie point with this and could well flip once elections are held on February 12.

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Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali feels that boycotting the match against India will not be good for the future of the sport. For the unversed, if Pakistan go ahead with their decision to boycott the match, it will be considered a forfeit and India will be awarded two points.

"If Pakistan doesn't play India and the latter earns two points by forfeiture, it will damage cricket and the sport's future," he said on YouTube.

India great Kris Srikkanth took a brutal dig at Pakistan over their decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India. "Empty vessels make more noise. Pakistan are scared. Now, in the U19 World Cup also they lost. So they are thinking of giving a walkover. Whether they play or not, the game is anyway a walkover for India. It does not matter if they come or not. In the Asia Cup, they played all the games against India," said Srikkanth.

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