Harbhajan Singh mocks Pakistan over T20 World Cup 2026 drama

The T20 World Cup 2026 has already seen enough drama off the field, and now the former Indian spinner and cricket pundit Harbhajan Singh has added more spice to the story with his bold comments on Pakistan’s sudden change of decision on the India game.

Boycott shock to the government's green signal on India-Pakistan game at T20 World Cup 2026

When Pakistan first announced they would boycott the big match against India in Colombo on February 15, it shocked the entire cricket world. The future of the biggest game of the tournament looked uncertain with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) firm on its stance.

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As the confusion grew among the fans and stakeholders, the Pakistan government eventually gave the green signal to the India-Pakistan clash after a high-profile meeting between the PCB, International Cricket Council (ICC), and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in Lahore.

Harbhajan Singh turns up the heat after Pakistan’s U-Turn

Reacting to the circus, Harbhajan Singh jokingly said that Pakistan’s U-turn was not surprising at all. The former Indian spinner has noted that PCB realised a little too late that the T20 World Cup 2026 would still move forward even without them.

The former cricketer has pointed out that the financial loss of missing the World Cup would have been massive and it could have led to serious trouble.

There was a strong chance of ICC action, heavy financial penalties, and even the risk of being banned from future events. And more importantly, Pakistan might have damaged its chances of hosting ICC tournaments again. For any cricket board, that is a big risk.

Harbhajan Singh explains the reason behind PCB's move

Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by ANI, “I think they realized very late that the tournament can go on even without them, but not without India. They were saying a lot of things—that they support Bangladesh and won't play. Fine, that is their idea. We had said earlier that they would certainly take a U-turn and play.”

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The former World Cup winner further added, “The financial loss is too high, and when it comes to money, they will come pleading to play. That is what has happened. The financial loss is too high, and they could even be banned in the future. ICC could have invoked charges against them, and maybe they would not have received the opportunity to host a tournament ever again. I think that is why the U-turn happened.”

Sourav Ganguly welcomes Pakistan’s U-Turn

Meanwhile, the former Indian captain and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has also reacted to Pakistan’s call. Ganguly said sports and politics should be kept separate, but the good thing is that Pakistan reconsidered its stand and agreed to play India in Colombo.

The legendary cricketer also said that India-Pakistan matches are always special and full of excitement and hopes the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 game will once again be a blockbuster, as most of the matches in recent times were dominated by India.

Ganguly was quoted as saying by NDTV in Kolkata: “I am not aware of the talks at the government level, but it is good that they are playing. Sports and politics are different. It will be a good match. India and Pakistan matches have always been good; there has not been much competition in the last few years. I hope Pakistan plays well because India is a superb team, and it is not going to be easy for them to defeat India.”