Pakistan supports Bangladesh to boycott India’s World Cup

In a time of crisis, Pakistan has extended its support to Bangladesh, assuring its full support for its decision not to travel to India for the upcoming World Cup and even offering to take up the matter with the ICC if necessary.

According to details, Indian cricket has recently withdrawn Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL under the pressure of extremists. His franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, has also come under heavy criticism, with Shah Rukh even being labeled a “traitor”.

In response, Bangladesh took a principled stand, stating that if India could not provide security to one of its players, then it certainly could not provide security to an entire team. Acting on government directives, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that the national team will not travel to India for the World Cup and also imposed a ban on the Indian Premier League (IPL) broadcast within the country.

According to highly placed sources who spoke to the Express Tribune, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will fully support Bangladesh in this matter, terming their stand justified. The source added that due to India’s behaviour, Pakistan had also previously refused to play there, leading to the adoption of a hybrid model for the tournament. Therefore, Bangladesh has every right to prioritize the safety of its players. If necessary, Pakistan is also ready to raise the issue at the ICC.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh cricket board has made it clear that regardless of any assurances from the Indian board or the ICC regarding top-level security, the team will not travel to India. The council pointed out that in the past, India’s refusal to tour Pakistan was accepted on security grounds, so the same rationale should apply now. However, the limited time before the tournament remains a logistical challenge.

It should be noted that Bangladesh’s World Cup schedule included three matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Recent Indian media reports also claimed that the ICC had started discussions about possibly relocating these matches to Sri Lanka.