NEW DELHI: The India vs Pakistan clash in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has taken another turn after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the three demands put forward by Pakistan in order to agree to play against India.
The development comes amid growing uncertainty over one of cricket’s biggest rivalries, with the PCB seeking certain assurances before reconsidering its decision to pull out of the marquee encounter.
🚨 REJECTION BY ICC TO PCB 🚨 [Vikrant Gupta]
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 9, 2026
- PCB demanded India must be asked to engage with Pakistan in Bilaterals but ICC rejected saying it's not their domain.
- PCB demanded IND - PAK - BAN to play Tri-series, ICC rejected again, saying it's not their domain.
- PCB… pic.twitter.com/KtNyr4BzV3
PCB’s Three Demands Turned Down
According to reports, Pakistan demanded that India be asked to engage in bilateral cricket with them. However, the ICC rejected the request, stating clearly that bilateral series are not under its domain and depend solely on mutual consent between the respective cricket boards.
The PCB also proposed a tri series involving India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This demand too was rejected by the ICC, once again citing that it does not have the authority to mandate bilateral or multi nation series outside ICC events.
In addition, Pakistan demanded that India must tour Bangladesh this year. The ICC rejected this request as well, reiterating that scheduling bilateral tours is not within its jurisdiction.
The row had begun earlier when Bangladesh raised concerns over their match venues just a month ahead of the World Cup and requested a change citing security reasons, which was turned down by the ICC.
Following the rejection, Bangladesh went on to withdraw from the tournament, and in solidarity with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Pakistan decided to boycott the high-profile clash against India.
