Is PCBs History Just One Big Cycle of Threats and Retreats?
Pakistan's history in the ICC events has been about u-turns against India. Over the last few years, the team has given several threats to not play the game against India but always ended up taking it all back.
Pakistan's history in the ICC events has been about u-turns against India. Over the last few years, the team has given several threats to not play the game against India but always ended up taking it all back. This has happened again in the T20 World Cup 2026, as the Pakistan Government has redirected the players to play.
The T20 World Cup 2026 has been more about the ICC meetings rather than the intense games of the tournament. It is not just the players who are fighting against each other, it is also the cricket boards who are against each other. Over the past few days, the PCB had taken over the headlines as they announced to not take the field against India.
However, the meetings took place between the ICC and the PCB to mediate the situation. And as expected, Pakistan has now decided that they will be taking the field for the game against India. This takes the team back to its original phase of taking u-turns. First they announce not to play, but end up playing the games against India.
Let's take a look at the history of u-turns taken by the PCB against India.
Asia Cup 2023
The Asia Cup 2023 edition was being hosted by Pakistan. And the team wanted India to play all their games in the host nation itself. But they were not able to succeed in the same, and ended up backing up. India played all of its games in Sri Lanka, and also ended up winning the tournament.
India and Pakistan faced each other in the Group stages of the tournament. But that match was abandoned due to the rain and left incomplete. Following that, both teams again faced each other in the Super Four stages of the tournament.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
This match saw India dominate Pakistan with ease. The team scored 356 runs, with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scoring centuries. And when it was India's turn to bowl, Kuldeep Yadav showcased his bowling brilliance, which helped India to eventually win the game.
World Cup 2023
Just after the Asia Cup 2023, India was hosting the World Cup. Pakistan decided that they won't be travelling to India, as the latter also didn't travel to their nation for Asia Cup 2023. But the stakes of the tournament were high, and eventually, Pakistan ended up playing all their games in India only.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
India and Pakistan faced each other once in the league stages of the tournament. Pakistan batted first and scored 191 runs before being all out. For India, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer scored half-centuries, which helped the home team to win the game with ease.
Champions Trophy 2025
The Champions Trophy 2025 was being hosted by Pakistan. But the Indian team had already made it clear that they won't be participating in the tournament if their games are in Pakistan. Eventually, India had their matches shifted to Dubai, but Pakistan decided that they wouldn't play against India.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
Still they went on to take the field for the group stage game against India. While Pakistan was bowled out at the score of 241, India went on to chase the same with 6 wickets remaining. As usual, it was Virat Kohli who smashed a ton against Pakistan in this game.
Asia Cup 2025
The controversy from Pakistan's side erupted in Asia Cup 2025 after the Group stages game against India. The PCB demanded that Andy Pycroft should not be the match referee for the games of the tournament. This was due to the fact that India went back without shaking hands with Pakistani players, and no actions were taken against them.
They even decided to not take the field for the game against Oman. But came back, played the game and won the same. And adding more to the plot twist, Andy Pycroft remained the Match referee for all the games of the tournament. Eventually, Pakistan also played against India in the tournament finals, and ended up losing the same.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
It was for the first time in the history of the tournament that India and Pakistan faced each other in the finals. While Pakistan batted first and posted a competitive total, India didn't have a good start. Still, Tilak Varma was able to handle the situation well, and this helped India to win the game and Asia Cup trophy both.
T20 World Cup 2026
Right before the T20 World Cup 2026, the boycott talks started again. Pakistan and India were scheduled to play their game against each other in Sri Lanka. This time Pakistan was successful in not playing their games in India. But they wanted to boycott the game against the defending champions.
PCB eventually had a meeting with the ICC to come to a common ground. Within a few days of their announcement to boycott, the team took the decision back. Now they will be playing the game against India on 15 February at Colombo, as per the schedule.
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