ICC deputy chairman arrives in Pakistan for talks on India match boycott

The ICC Deputy Chairman, Imran Khwaja, has arrived in Pakistan to hold talks over Pakistan’s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup match against India.

Imran Khwaja, who is originally from Singapore, landed in Lahore and is scheduled to meet PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

The discussions will focus on persuading Pakistan to take part in the high-profile round match against India in the World Cup.

Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board President Aminul Islam also arrived in Pakistan and will attend the meeting alongside the ICC delegation.

The key agenda of the talks is to convince Pakistan to reconsider its stance and play the scheduled match against India.

Pakistan has announced the boycott as a gesture of solidarity with Bangladesh, which had raised serious security concerns about playing its matches in India and requested that its fixtures be shifted to Sri Lanka.

The ICC rejected the request and instead replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament.

In response, Pakistan refused to play the round match against India — a move that could result in significant financial losses for the ICC. The Pakistan–India match is scheduled to be played in Colombo in February.

Sources say that the ICC delegation and the BCB president are expected to depart Pakistan later today after the meeting.