Mohsin Naqvi weaponizes India-Bangladesh row as Pakistan threaten T20 World Cup 2026 withdrawal

Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has come forward in support of Bangladesh and threatened to withdraw from the T20 World Cup 2026 if the security concerns are not taken care of.

This article sheds light on the new angle that the India- Bangladesh row has taken with the entry of Pakistan.

Mohsin Naqvi weaponises India-Bangladesh row as Pakistan threaten T20 World Cup 2026 withdrawal

The Matter

Bangladesh has taken a firm stance regarding a venue change for their matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup

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It all started when Mustafizur Rahman's name, who was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2026 player auction, was withdrawn following tension between India and Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has since then stood strongly opposing this decision and has, time and again, refused to play their T20 World Cup games in India.

The controversy has seen a lot of trouble with conflicting reports emerging every other day, including a possible swapping of groups between Bangladesh and Ireland, so that Bangladesh can play their matches in Sri Lanka.

However, it was later clarified by Cricket Ireland that they have been assured that nothing of this sort will happen, according to a report in Cricbuzz.

“We’ve received definitive assurances that we won’t move from the original schedule. We’re definitely playing the group stage in Sri Lanka,” a Cricket Ireland official said.

The Pakistani Angle

The chaos, which was appearing to be settled, has been made full use of by Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman, who has now threatened to withdraw Pakistan's participation from the multi-nation tournament if security concerns regarding Bangladesh are not resolved.

According to a report in Geo News, the Bangladesh government has reached out to Pakistan for support regarding the issue.

This move comes a few days after the Pakistan Cricket Board formally announced its case to host Bangladesh's T20 World Cup matches in Pakistan.

The report also said that PCB is confident of staging the matches, having successfully hosted the 2025 Champions Trophy, with India's matches taking place in Dubai and the Women's ODI World Cup qualifiers the same year.

The Decision

ICC is expected to take a call on the controversy on Wednesday (January 21) with a possible shift in venue within India.

An ICC Delegation is currently in Bangladesh and is exploring all possible options with the BCB still firm in its stance of playing its matches outside India.

One of the reasons why the ICC is insisting that Bangladesh play their matches in India is due to the cost that cricket's governing body will have to bear if they decide to go ahead with BCB's request.

It will involve a lot of logical restructing which might not be feasible for the International Cricket Council.

To add to that, ICC is also of the opinion that a risk assessment carried out by international security experts conveys that Bangladesh is not at risk if the team plays its 2026 T20 World Cup matches in India.

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