Pakistan boycott India match: How does it affect their path to Super 8s of T20 World Cup?

India and Pakistan players line up ahead of their match at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Willfully forfeiting two points leaves no margin for error for Pakistan in the group stages.

By announcing it would boycott the upcoming match against India in the T20 World Cup group stage, the Pakistan government on Sunday may have complicated the national team’s path to the Super 8s and knockouts.

Deciding to not play the February 15 contest in Colombo will mean Pakistan will have to seal three wins in their other three group-stage games. They are heavily favoured to do so, considering those matches are against vastly lower-ranked sides: Namibia, Netherlands and USA. But the latter team have already sprung a surprise on them with a Super Over win in the 2024 edition which knocked them out. They must ensure they don’t slip on another banana skin, especially considering their willful forfeiture of two crucial points.

Though the tournament format somewhat supports cricket’s global expansion, it is unlikely to threaten the top-ranked T20I teams. The group stage of the 20-team tournament will feature a bevy of lopsided contests — such as England and World Cup debutants Italy in Group C, separated by 23 places on the T20I rankings.

Large pool, fewer threats

The 10th edition of the tournament will replicate the 2024 World Cup format. This includes nine of the top 10-ranked T20I sides, with the exception of Bangladesh, who were replaced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Scotland, after refusing to travel to India for their group games amid ongoing political tensions.

The group stage will comprise four pools of five teams in a single round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Super 8 stage.

T20 World Cup 2026 groups (rankings)

Group A: India (1), Pakistan (6), Netherlands (13), Namibia (15), USA (18)

Group B: Australia (2), Ireland (11), Oman (20), Sri Lanka (8), Zimbabwe (12)

Group C: England (3), Italy (27), Nepal (16), Scotland (14), West Indies (7)

Group D: New Zealand (4), South Africa (5), Afghanistan (10), Canada (19), UAE (17)