As the Pakistan government & PCB has not yet made a final and binding decision, the talks relating to a possible boycott during the next T20 World Cup are said to have become more focused. Rather than withdrawing the whole tournament, the attention has been on the possibility of losing the high profile Group A game involving Pakistan and India that was due to happen on February 15.
A recent media report showed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is cautiously evaluating the political, legal and financial implication of such a course of action. PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi engaged in intimate talks with the Prime Minister on Monday and all the available options were discussed. Naqvi thinks that the political leadership of the country is supposed to offer coherent direction and then the government may make a final decision which may be by Friday or early in the next week.
Sources added that he has also been consulted on the matter by Naqvi who is in the United Arab Emirates with president Asif Ali Zardari. Besides that, within the next few days, the PCB chief is supposed to consult with the past PCB chairmen as a wider consultation process.
The issues of boycotting the India match have been discussed internally. Nonetheless, reports suggested that in case Pakistan does participate in the tournament then the possibility of forfeiting the India game would be determined by the result of the team in the first two games: against the Netherlands on February 7 and USA on February 10. In case Pakistan manages to win the two matches, the chances of the game against India being skipped may rise.
Meanwhile, PCB officials also fear that losing the high-profile match can bring severe repercussions, such as legal action by host broadcasters, due to the commercial importance of the India-Pakistan match.
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