Updated February 5th 2026, 13:00 IST

ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Former England captain Nasser Hussain dived into the Bangladesh, Pakistan T20 World Cup mess. Hussain gave his two cents on the issue and went on to back the stance taken by Bangladesh and Pakistan. For the unversed, Bangladesh has boycotted the marquee event completely and have already been replaced by Scotland.
On the other hand, the government of Pakistan has stated that they would feature in the T20 WC but will not play against India on February 15 in Colombo. While this move has drawn worldwide criticism, Hussain is all for the move by Pakistan.
Questioning ICC's intent, Hussain said how would the apex body respond to the situation if it was India, instead of Pakistan.
“If India, a month before a tournament, said ‘our government does not want us to play in a country for a World Cup’, would the ICC have been so firm and said, ‘You know the rules, bad luck, we’re knocking you out?’” Hussain asked on the Sky Cricket Podcast in a conversation with Michael Atherton.
Now, fans are bashing Hussain as most are calling his ‘hypocrisy’. For the unversed, under Hussain, England did walk away from a 2003 World Cup match against Zimbabwe on “moral grounds.”
Meanwhile, the PCB is yet to formally respond to the ICC and till that does not happen, the game is still on.
As per reports, the ICC is trying to persuade Pakistan to not take a step so radical as not playing India at a global event. Some reports also claim that there may be a last-minute U-turn on this.
Published February 5th 2026, 12:47 IST