Pakistan lack courage to boycott T20 World Cup, says former Indian cricketer

New Delhi: Former India cricketer and Test specialist Ajinkya Rahane has issued a bold statement against Pakistan saying that they lack the courage to boycott the T20 World Cup 2026. The showpiece T20 spectacle starts on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka and after the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, Pakistan started off with their drama of pulling out of the event in solidarity with Bangladesh.

As per a latest report in news agency PTI on Thursday, the tickets for the entire Pakistan contingent have been finalised and the side is set to fly to the island nation for the global ICC spectacle. An official confirmation is just what is required with the PCB coming out with the final decision by this weekend after a long delay.

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Meanwhile, in an interaction with Cricbuzz, Rahane said that he believed the Pakistani side will not be able to take a courageous decision of boycotting the T20 spectacle next month. The former batter also looked sure that the Men in Green will travel to the island nation for the World Cup.

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'I don't think they can do that. I don't think they have, am I allowed to say, guts? Yeah, I don't think they can do that. They are going to come,' Rahane said. Pakistan are set to play all of their matches at two Sri Lankan venues - Colombo and Pallekele - after an agreement with the ICC and the BCCI in December 2024, under which both boards agreed not to play in each other’s countries during ICC events.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi recently held a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and revealed that a final call regarding their participation would be taken maximum by February 2. Pakistan are placed in Group A, alongside the USA, India, Namibia and the Netherlands. They will take on arch-rivals India in the highly anticipated clash on February 15 in Colombo.