Kohli's coach slams Pak's 'strange' decision to boycott India match

Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, has condemned Pakistan's decision to boycott its T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. He termed it 'unfortunate', predicting heavy losses for the PCB, fans, and players, and urged a rethink.

Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma said Pakistan government's decision to not allow the Pakistan cricket team to participate in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match against India is very unfortunate and that they should give it a rethink as it will be a loss for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Pakistan's public and cricket players alike.

Rajkumar Sharma's comments come after Pakistan decided to boycott its group-stage match against India in the ICC World T20 World Cup, scheduled for February 15. The Pakistan government said in a post on X that the Pakistan team "shall not take the field" in the match against India.

Kohli's coach calls Pakistan's decision 'unfortunate'

Speaking to ANI, Rajkumar Sharma called Pakistan's decision to pull out of the India match unfortunate and strange, saying it would cause major losses for the PCB, fans, and players. He added that while India is ahead competitively, the move is political and hoped the PCB would reconsider, given that the decision will invoke an ICC action.

"It is very unfortunate, and it is a strange decision by Pakistan. They hadn't reacted until now; earlier, they had voted in favour of Bangladesh not travelling to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, and now they have decided to back out of playing against India. This is very unfortunate, and Pakistan will have to bear heavy losses because of this. It's also a loss for Pakistan's public, who want to see their players playing against India. It's also a loss for their players. I think the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will rethink this decision," Rajkumar Sharma said.

"When it comes to cricket, India is way ahead of Pakistan in terms of competition. However, this is a political decision, and they should consider ICC's action in response to this decision as the PCB will face a heavy loss. I believe they will think again about their decision," he added.

Pakistan Government's Official Stance

In an X post on Sunday, the Government of Pakistan stated, "The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026; however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India."

The Pakistan government did not give any reason for its decision not to play against India. The Indian team is in terrific form ahead of the World Cup and won the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 4-1. Pakistan have a terrible record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups. The two teams have played eight times, with the record standing at 7-1 in India's favour. The ICC T20 World Cup will begin on February 7.

ICC Replaces Bangladesh with Scotland

The PCB chairman and the country's interior minister, Mohsin Naqv, met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month to brief him on the International Cricket Council's decision after Bangladesh refused to send their team to India over purported "security concerns".

The ICC had last month announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule. The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB's demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka, in the 20-team tournament to be played from February 7 to March 8.

ICC's Security Assessment

The decision followed an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB about hosting its scheduled matches in India. Over more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted transparently and constructively, including meetings held both via video conference and in person. As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.

The ICC's assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule.

Board Upholds Schedule, BCB Fails to Confirm

The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events. Following its meeting, the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.

Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy.

T20 World Cup 2026: India's Group and Schedule

The defending champions, Team India, are slotted in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, the USA, and arch-rivals Pakistan. The Men in Blue will play their opening fixture against the USA on February 7, followed by their match against on February 12. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)