PESHAWAR: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday said his recent engagements with officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) were focused entirely on securing “respect for Bangladesh” and highlighting the injustice done to them.
Speaking to the media in Peshawar, a day after the government withdrew its decision to boycott Pakistan’s group-stage T20 World Cup match against India scheduled for February 15, Naqvi said no other matters were discussed during the talks. “We did not discuss anything apart from Bangladesh; our only purpose was to get Bangladesh respect and to highlight the injustice done to them,” he said.
He added that Bangladesh’s concerns had been addressed. “You saw that whatever demands Bangladesh made were accepted. That’s it,” Naqvi stated, stressing that there was no personal or institutional interest for Pakistan in the discussions. “Our task was purely related to Bangladesh. When their demands were accepted and it was acknowledged that injustice was done to them, we agreed to play.”
The controversy stemmed from the government’s February 1 decision to boycott the match against arch-rivals India after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament, following Dhaka’s refusal to tour India over security concerns amid strained bilateral relations. Pakistan had initially agreed to participate in the T20 World Cup but announced it would skip the India fixture.
The ICC responded by stating that selective participation conflicted with the principles of a global sporting event and warned of long-term implications for Pakistan cricket. Back-channel negotiations involving the ICC, PCB and BCB, along with interventions by Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, followed to avert a crisis and potential financial losses.
On Sunday, BCB chief Aminul Islam and ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khawaja met Naqvi in Lahore, while Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also urged Pakistan to play the match during a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The following day, the government announced the withdrawal of its boycott decision.
In a statement, the ICC confirmed that no financial, sporting or administrative penalties would be imposed on the BCB and said Bangladesh would be compensated by hosting an ICC event prior to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2031.
Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha said the team would consult the government again if it faced India in the semi-final or final of the tournament.
