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A decision on whether Pakistan will boycott next month’s men’s T20 World Cup is set to be made by early next week.<\/b><\/p>\n
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair Mohsin Naqvi held talks with the country’s prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, on Monday to discuss their participation in light of Bangladesh’s withdrawal.<\/p>\n
The International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland<\/a> on Saturday for the tournament which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka between 7 February and 8 March.<\/p>\n Naqvi said in a post on X, external<\/span><\/a> he had “a productive meeting” with Sharif where he “briefed him on the ICC matter”. <\/p>\n “He [Sharif] directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table,” Naqvi said.<\/p>\n “It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday.”<\/p>\n BBC Sport understands that in addition to a full boycott of the tournament Pakistan officials are considering just boycotting their match against India.<\/p>\n Pakistan are due to play India at the T20 World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 15 February in accordance with an agreement signed last year<\/a> saying the two countries will play at neutral venues whenever one of them hosts an ICC event.<\/p>\n Political tensions mean the two countries have not faced each other outside men’s major tournaments since 2013, while India have not played in Pakistan since 2008.<\/p>\n The ICC has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n Pakistan’s response comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had asked for their World Cup fixtures to be switched from India citing safety concerns. <\/p>\n There has been growing tensions between the countries<\/a> and Bangladesh requested their games were played in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament, instead.<\/p>\n The ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request<\/a>, saying there was an “absence of any credible security threat” before the BCB reaffirmed its position.<\/p>\n BBC Sport understands Pakistan supported Bangladesh’s position in an emergency ICC board meeting held last Wednesday.<\/p>\n In a statement released last Saturday<\/a>, in which they announced the decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland, the ICC said it had “engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner”.<\/p>\n “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,” the ICC statement added.<\/p>\n The ICC also said it was keen not to establish “precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events”.<\/p>\n This month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India told Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman<\/a> because of political tensions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n