'Utter nonsense' - Irfan Pathan blasts Pakistan over 2026 T20 World Cup row

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan feels Pakistan's uncertain stance of participating in the upcoming T20 World Cup is "utter nonsense". The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had recently expressed displeasure with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the exclusion of Bangladesh from the tournament.

Irfan opined that it was unnecessary for the PCB to deviate from the actual plan set by the ICC to play all their matches in Sri Lanka.

“Nonsense! Nonsense! This is absolutely utter nonsense from Pakistan. If you have agreed to a hybrid model before and to play in Sri Lanka, then why create this situation now? It is nothing other than utter nonsense,” shared Irfan, as quoted by Revsportz.

For the unversed, Bangladesh had not accepted the proposal to travel to India for the mega event, citing security concerns. The ICC conducted a thorough assessment of the situation and found no legitimate threat. The administrative body replaced Bangladesh with Scotland eventually as the BCB did not change its stance. The PCB was the only board to back Bangladesh in their stance. The board then hinted that their own participation would end up depending on the final decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Pakistan have already named their squad for the event, which is scheduled to be held across February and March. However, they are yet to confirm their participation. PCB's chairperson Mohsin Naqvi has met Sharif, ad reports suggest that the Men in Green could forfeit their match against India in Colombo on February 15, if not the entire tournament.

Naqvi recently labelled Bangladesh’s stand as 'principled'. He also accused the ICC of following double standards. On the contrary, several PCB officials and former cricketers such as Mohammad Hafeez and Inzamam-ul-Haq have warned Pakistan that a withdrawal will only end up hurting their image at the global level and create unnecessary financial strains. The ICC has reportedly warned the PCB that there will be strict consequences if Pakistan boycott the tournament.