ICC, PCB officials meet in Lahore to discuss Pakistan’s boycotted match with India on Feb 15

A meeting between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards was held at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday to discuss Pakistan’s decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match with India on February 15.

The meeting was still in progress until late Sunday night, while the ICC, as well as the two cricket boards, decided not to speak to the media regarding the discussion.

After a four-hour meeting, no joint declaration was issued. Per sources, there was a break for a late-night dinner, and a second round of talks was scheduled after that.

Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier told Dawn that the two sides will most likely announce the outcome of the meeting after receiving an endorsement from the Government of Pakistan.

They added that the main concern of the PCB expressed during the meeting was related to the “politics rampant at a large-scale level across the ICC affairs and India’s excessive involvement in it.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) influence over the ICC decisions was not acceptable to Pakistan, according to a PCB source.

They added that the ICC had “nothing to offer to Bangladesh as compensation but to ensure it would get a full share from the ICC earnings.”

The sources further said ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khawaja advised the PCB to “move its case before the ICC arbitration committee or bring it up during the ICC board meeting, and end the boycott of the India-Pakistan match forthwith, as it was not good for cricket.”

Earlier in the evening, Khawaja landed in Lahore to meet PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, while Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam also separately arrived to partake in some meetings.

Confirming Khawaja’s arrival in a post on X, the PCB said the ICC official was greeted by Amir Mir, an adviser to the PCB chief, at the Lahore airport.