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Pakistan- Pakistan not playing T20 World Cup match against India in World Cup can create big problem. The decision to boycott the match could spell big trouble for Salman Ali’s team.
New Delhi: Pakistan not playing a T20 World Cup match against India in the World Cup could create a big problem. The decision to boycott the match could spell big trouble for Salman Ali’s team. According to reports, the ICC is considering taking action against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Also not playing a league match will also affect net run rate apart from losing two points. Not playing this one match can change the equation of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan will first lose two points for not playing a match against India, as not playing the match will be considered as a forfeit. This means India will be awarded two points, just as Australia and the West Indies did not play against Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup, and England and New Zealand did not play against Zimbabwe and Kenya in the 2003 World Cup.
The ICC has not yet released the playing conditions for the 2026 T20 World Cup. But it is expected to be similar to the 2024 tournament. If there is no change, Pakistan’s Net Run Rate (NRR) could be severely affected.
According to ICC Article 16.10.70, if a team does not play the match, then the rules are clear. It will be assumed that the score of the team which boycotted the match was 0 runs in 20 overs. As a result, their run rate will go down a lot. That means 20 overs will be added while calculating the total run rate in the group stage, but the runs will remain the same – zero.
Pakistan are in Group A along with India, Netherlands, Namibia and USA. The two Asian teams are expected to win their remaining group matches. In this case, the importance of NRR (Net Run Rate) will decrease a lot.
If India loses to either USA, Namibia or the Netherlands and Pakistan ends up tied with three teams in the points table, it is almost certain that Pakistan’s run rate will not beat any team, even if they win the rest of the matches by huge margins!
If Pakistan lose any match, they can be eliminated from the tournament. Even if a match is called off due to rain, that could add to Pakistan’s woes. If Pakistan boycotts the match, India will gain two points, but India’s NRR will not be affected. Here’s an interesting fact—India will play their last group match against the Netherlands. Right after that, Pakistan will also finish their campaign against Namibia.
Kolkata, West Bengal
Feb 03, 2026 12:59 AM IST
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