Pakistan's T20 World Cup jersey unveiling postponed over 'unavoidable reasons'

LAHORE: With Pakistan’s participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in doubt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the unveiling of the national team’s official jersey for the tournament due to “unavoidable reasons”, sources told Geo News on Saturday.

According to the well-placed sources, the PCB had planned to reveal the players’ official kit following the toss of the second T20I against Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

The postponement comes amid continued uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s participation in the marquee tournament, which is scheduled to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.

Sources further revealed that the PCB is expected to make a final decision regarding Pakistan’s participation on Monday after high-level consultations.

Pakistan are currently slated to open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 and have been placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals India, as well as the USA and Namibia.

Notably, the PCB announced a 15-member squad for the tournament on January 25 during a media conference attended by PCB Director of High Performance and Men’s National Selection Committee member Aqib Javed, Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and T20I captain Salman Ali Agha.

Captain Salman Ali Agha, along with Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tariq, has earned a maiden call-up to Pakistan’s squad for a major ICC event.

Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Usman Khan have featured in one or more editions of the T20 World Cup since 2021.

As per the ‘Fusion Formula’, the 2009 champions will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka, which stipulates that Pakistan and India will not tour each other for ICC events over a three-year period and will instead compete at neutral venues.

If Pakistan advance to the semi-finals and final, both knockout matches will be hosted in Colombo. Otherwise, the semi-finals and final will be staged in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, respectively.

Pakistan squad:

Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.

Pakistan’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 schedule:

February 7 – Pakistan vs Netherlands, Colombo

February 10 – Pakistan vs USA, Colombo

February 15 – India vs Pakistan, Colombo

February 18 – Pakistan vs Namibia, Colombo