“Try banning Pakistan” - Basit Ali challenges ICC to ban Pakistan amid India game boycott

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has challenged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ban Pakistan after the Pakistan government decided to boycott the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 fixture against India, scheduled on Sunday, February 15, in Colombo.

Interestingly, Basit Ali’s comments came after the reports of the ICC considering severe sanctions against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Game Plan, Basit stated that Team India had set the precedent, and Pakistan is now being lashed out at for taking the same route. 

“India started this behaviour. Shaking hands is not mandatory. I’m not even going to talk about the decision of the Indian players not to shake hands with the Pakistan players. But the Indians refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi. They refused because the Indian government refused,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

“Now when we are boycotting a game because our government has asked us to, are we suddenly the bad guys? If India can do it, Pakistan can too!” he added.

According to various reports, an India-Pakistan fixture in an ICC event generates revenue of a whopping USD 250 million, which roughly translates to INR 2200 Crore. Additionally, Basit also disclosed that in the past, countries like the West Indies and Australia forfeited their games in the ICC World Cup 1996, but there were no penalties levied by the ICC on them.

“West Indies and Australia forfeited their games in the World Cup of 1996. Besides the teams losing two points, was there any other penalty levied on them? England and New Zealand forfeited games in the World Cup of 2003. Did they face any additional penalties? And there is conversation that Pakistan cricket team will be banned. Ban karke dekhlo! (Try doing it!)” he concluded.

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