Former England captain Nasser Hussain on Wednesday urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to apply the same standards to every team — including India — as Pakistan maintains its position that it will not take the field for the February 15 World Cup match against India.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Hussain said the real test for the ICC was “consistency” in how it treats Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
“I guess the real comparison would be… If it had been India, and in the future if India, a month before a tournament, say our government does not want us to go and play in that country in a World Cup, would the ICC have been so firm and say, ‘you know the rules, bad luck, we’re knocking you out’,” Hussain said. “That is the only question that all sides ask for is consistency,” he added.
Hussain said that while “India fans will say, ‘cry more, we have the money’,” he argued that “with power comes responsibility,” warning that repeatedly knocking other teams can weaken their cricket and reduce the competitiveness of major rivalries. He said the same political spillover was now visible in franchise cricket.
He pointed to concerns about whether franchises owned by IPL owners would pick Pakistani and Bangladeshi players, saying he understood England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) officials were watching the issue in The Hundred. “I know The Hundred, I think the ECB, if I got that right, have said that they will keep an eye on that and make sure that Pakistan players are picked,” he said.
Former England captain Michael Atherton responded that he believed there would be no change in policy, saying: “I’m fairly certain Richard Gould has said there’d be no change in the policy, which is that obviously The Hundred is open to all players.”
Atherton added that it was worth monitoring, given that four of those teams are owned by IPL owners.
Hussain said the sport risked “shooting itself in the foot” if players were frozen out of franchise opportunities, contrasting it with other leagues where participation can strengthen a country’s cricket. “I’m amazed how well Pakistan have done and continues to do with everything that they’re working against,” he said.
He also said he understood Bangladesh’s position in defending its player Mustafizur Rahman and said he also “quite like Pakistan” backing Bangladesh, while urging a return to cricket free of political escalation. “At some stage, someone’s got to say: ‘Enough with this politics. Can we just get back to playing cricket?'” he said.
His remarks come after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed Pakistan will not play India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, saying the decision was taken after much deliberation and that “politics should have no place in the field of sports”, while stressing Pakistan should stand with Bangladesh.
He made the statement while addressing a federal cabinet meeting.
Pakistan has said it will not take the field against India on February 15 to show solidarity with Bangladesh, which the ICC kicked out of the tournament after rejecting the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) request to move matches outside India.
The BCB refused to let its team travel to India, citing security concerns in the wake of Mustafizur Rahman’s ouster from the Indian Premier League.
The ICC then replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, stating that it was not feasible to revise the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the World Cup.
Government sources told Geo News the Pakistani team was instructed not to take the field against India on February 15 as “a form of protest”, linking the move to what they described as the ICC’s perceived biased stance towards Bangladesh.
The sources alleged that ICC chief Jay Shah’s decisions had undermined fairness and that different standards were being applied on the ICC platform.
Since then, the ICC has expressed hope that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would work towards a “mutually acceptable resolution” and has urged the PCB to reconsider, saying the decision was not “in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan”.
Following India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, the ICC had earlier brokered a compromise under which India and Pakistan would only face each other at neutral venues during ICC events.
Currently, the national team is present in Colombo to participate in the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India from February 7 to March 8.
