{"id":17719,"date":"2026-02-07T23:15:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=17719"},"modified":"2026-02-07T23:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:15:49","slug":"pcb-denies-approaching-icc-over-ind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/02\/07\/pcb-denies-approaching-icc-over-ind\/","title":{"rendered":"PCB denies approaching ICC over India match rejects journalist\u2019s claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

PCB denies approaching ICC over India match rejects journalist\u2019s claim <\/strong><\/h3>\n
LAHORE<\/span>:<\/em> The Pakistan Cricket Board<\/a> (PCB) on Saturday firmly denied claims that it had approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) to initiate talks regarding Pakistan\u2019s scheduled T20 World Cup match against India, calling the reports speculative and misleading.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

The clarification came after Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta alleged in a post on social media platform X that the PCB had contacted the ICC to discuss the India\u2013Pakistan World Cup fixture following an official response from the global cricket body.<\/p>\n

Rejecting the assertion, PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said the board had not reached out to the ICC on its own initiative. \u201cI categorically reject the claim that PCB approached the ICC,\u201d he said, adding that sections of the Indian media were \u201ccirculating fiction.\u201d He maintained that clarity would emerge in due course over who initiated contact.<\/p>\n

The much-anticipated Pakistan\u2013India encounter, traditionally one of the most lucrative fixtures in international cricket due to its massive broadcast and sponsorship value, has been thrown into uncertainty after Pakistan\u2019s federal government directed the national team not to play the match in Colombo.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the ICC is engaged in dialogue with the PCB to address Pakistan\u2019s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup match against India, scheduled for February 15. According to a source close to the developments, the PCB responded after receiving formal communication from the ICC, which is seeking a resolution through discussion rather than confrontation.<\/p>\n

The issue has cast renewed uncertainty over the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. A potential Pakistan\u2013India clash is regarded as the tournament\u2019s biggest commercial attraction, and Pakistan\u2019s refusal to play could force the ICC to reconsider scheduling arrangements or points-allocation scenarios.<\/p>\n

Despite the decision to opt out of the India match, Pakistan has confirmed participation in the remainder of the tournament, indicating a limited protest rather than a complete boycott. The move follows days of speculation linked to broader regional and political tensions.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the ICC urged the PCB to work towards a mutually acceptable solution, noting that selective participation conflicts with the core principles of global sporting events. \u201cICC tournaments are built on the principles of sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness,\u201d the statement said, adding that partial participation undermines the spirit of international competition. The council also noted that it is awaiting official communication from the PCB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PCB denies approaching ICC over India match rejects journalist\u2019s claim LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday firmly denied claims that it had approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) to initiate talks regarding Pakistan\u2019s scheduled T20 World Cup match against India, calling the reports speculative and misleading. The clarification came after Indian sports journalist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2298,2305],"tags":[3590],"class_list":["post-17719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-pakistan","category-sports","tag-pakistan-cricket-board"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17722,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17719\/revisions\/17722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}