Ex-ICC President says there won’t be any sanctions for Pakistan

Will the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) face sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for skipping the 2026 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan? Ehsan Mani, a former chairman of the ICC, does not believe that the international cricket organisation has the authority to take any action against PCB.

The Pakistani government just added an asterisk to its confirmation of participation in the T20 World Cup. The highly anticipated match versus India on February 15 in Colombo will not take place, it was stated without providing an explanation.

The ICC released a reactive statement on Sunday, threatening Pakistan with dire repercussions if it doesn't change its position. The PCB has not yet written to the ICC. India's position during the Champions Trophy, when New Delhi refused to tour Pakistan but still played matches at a neutral location, was cited by Mani, the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“If a team is acting on government instructions, sanctions are difficult to justify. Otherwise, you open the door to double standards,” Mani told Sportstar.

His argument is rooted in governance consistency. If the ICC allowed a neutral venue workaround earlier, punishing Pakistan now risks accusations of selective enforcement. However, he very cleverly missed the point that the Pakistani team mentioned about the boycott at the very last minute, which is going to cost millions of dollars to the broadcasters and the ICC.

Another point missed by Mani when giving his statement is that the issue brought up by the Bangladesh govt was tried to resolve many times by the ICC, but they were just not interested in the solution, but only the politics in the game. And, the issue had nothing to do with Pakistan to begin with. So their interest in the boycott now seems nothing but political, instead of being rooted in the safety of their players.

The comparison becomes weaker at this point. India played Pakistan in the Champions Trophy at a neutral location. Even though the schedule for the current T20 World Cup was decided months ago, Pakistan is refusing to play India in Colombo.

This is an important distinction. There is a clear distinction between refusing to travel and refusing to play in the ICC's playing conditions. The latter may be regarded as a forfeit, which entails financial and competitive consequences.

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