{"id":395598,"date":"2026-01-28T20:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/395598\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:20:18","slug":"pakistans-t20-world-cup-replacement-is-ready-iceland-trolls-after-boycott-theatrics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/395598\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan’s T20 World Cup replacement is ready: Iceland trolls after boycott theatrics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland Cricket added a dose of humour to the growing T20 World Cup controversy by trolling Pakistan amid speculation over a possible boycott of the tournament. The quirky post surfaced as off-field drama continued to build following Bangladesh\u2019s withdrawal and sharp comments from the Pakistan Cricket Board.<\/p>\n

The post was shared by Iceland Cricket on social media, reacting to uncertainty surrounding Pakistan\u2019s stance at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup<\/a>. In a tongue-in-cheek message, Iceland joked that they were ready to step in if Pakistan decided to pull out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need Pakistan to decide soon upon their participation in the T20 WC. We are ready to take off as soon as they pull out on 2nd Feb, but the flight schedule is a logistical nightmare to get us to Colombo in good time for 7th Feb. Our opening bat is an insomniac!\u201d Iceland Cricket wrote, drawing widespread attention for its light-hearted dig.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup theatrics<\/p>\n

The humour, however, sits against a serious backdrop. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi recently criticised the International Cricket Council for removing Bangladesh<\/a> from the tournament after they refused to travel to India citing security concerns. Naqvi argued that Bangladesh, as a full ICC member, should have been given the same concessions as Pakistan, whose matches in India-based ICC events are played at neutral venues.<\/p>\n

The ICC, however, stood by its decision, stating that independent security assessments carried out by internal and external experts found no credible or verifiable threat to Bangladesh\u2019s players, officials or supporters in India. With Bangladesh unwilling to travel despite those assurances, the ICC replaced them with Scotland.<\/p>\n

How has ICC responded to Pakistan’s threats<\/p>\n

Naqvi\u2019s remarks have since triggered speculation over whether Pakistan could contemplate a similar last-minute boycott, despite the PCB announcing its 15-member squad for the tournament a day after his comments. According to what sources told India Today, the ICC has already warned Pakistan of heavy sanctions<\/a> if they attempt a similar withdrawal. Such a move, the sources added, could have serious consequences and long-term negative effects on Pakistan cricket across formats and competitions.<\/p>\n

Pakistan currently follow a hybrid model for ICC events in India, with all their matches scheduled in Sri Lanka. The same arrangement applies for the 2026 T20 World Cup, with Pakistan set to play all their fixtures in Colombo. Naqvi has insisted that Bangladesh should have been granted a similar concession, saying no country should be allowed to dictate terms to another, a remark widely seen as a dig at India.<\/p>\n

Pakistan and India are scheduled to face each other on February 15 in Colombo, with both sides placed in Group A.<\/p>\n

– Ends<\/p>\n

Published By: <\/p>\n

Debodinna Chakraborty<\/p>\n

Published On: <\/p>\n

Jan 28, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iceland Cricket added a dose of humour to the growing T20 World Cup controversy by trolling Pakistan amid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[148513,1721,148512,148510,148514,148511,148516,148515,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-395598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-bangladesh-replaced-by-scotland","tag-cricket","tag-icc-warning-pakistan-sanctions-t20-world-cup","tag-iceland-cricket-pakistan-troll-t20-world-cup","tag-india-vs-pakistan-t20-world-cup-2026","tag-pakistan-t20-world-cup-boycott","tag-pakistan-t20-world-cup-replacement","tag-pcb-mohsin-naqvi-t20-world-cup","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}