Pakistan's boycott of a game against India looms over cricket's T20 World Cup

With a boycott looming, the Twenty20 World Cup may be the first major International Cricket Council tournament in 14 years to miss a head-to-head contest between traditional rivals India and Pakistan.

The T20 event opens Saturday with Pakistan against Netherlands, and with India finishing off the Day 1 program against the United States.

It's the scheduled Feb. 15 encounter in Colombo between Pakistan and India that has plunged the 20-team tournament into crisis.

Pakistan's government has refused permission for its national cricket team to take the field in marquee Group A game.

There’s a chance the countries might face off in the semifinals or final, but its unclear whether the cricketers will be asked to extend the boycott into the playoffs.

The sport’s global organizers has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to “explore a mutually acceptable resolution” which “protects the interests of all stakeholders.”

After concluding a 3-0 Twenty20 series win over Australia on Sunday, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said he will follow the government’s instructions.

“It’s not our decision. We can’t do anything about it,” Agha said. “We will do whatever our government and the (PCB) chairman say.”

The government decision reportedly was in support of Pakistan's cricket board, which backed Bangladesh after the ICC refused its request to shift its games from India to Sri Lanka because of security concerns.

The ICC Board, of which Bangladesh is a full member, decided to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the draw.

Pakistan cricket chairman Mohsin Naqvi subsequently accused the ICC of “double-standards.”

The 20 teams are divided into four groups, with the top two from each qualifying for the Super Eights. Two teams from each group in the second round will advance to semifinals on March 4 and 5. The final is set for March 8.

India will host games in its five major cities New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Co-host Sri Lanka, where Pakistan will play all its games, will host matches at Pallekele and two venues in Colombo.

Here's a breakdown of each group:

Pakistan, which will concede two competition points if it goes ahead with forfeiting the game against India, can't afford a slip up against three associate countries in the group — Netherlands, Namibia and the United States.

The U.S. shocked Pakistan at Dallas in the last Twenty20 World Cup in 2024 with a victory in a thrilling super over that eventually led to Pakistan's group-stage exit.

In 2022, the Netherlands also sprung a surprise in Australia when its thrilling win against South Africa paved the way for Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals.

Defending champion India is favorite after warming up with a 4-1 series victory over New Zealand, capped with a massive total of 271 in the last game.

Australia is favorite to advance from a group that also includes co-host Sri Lanka, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe.

But the Australians are coming off a reality check following a 3-0 series loss to Pakistan in Lahore on slow spin-friendly wickets of Gaddafi Stadium – including its biggest-ever defeat by 111 runs in the last game.

The 2021 champions have failed to qualify for the semifinals in the last two T20 World Cups.

Sri Lanka was last to finalize its squad, tinkering with the batting lineup until the last minute. Dhananjaya de Silva was left out while Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Perera were recalled. The co-host will be banking more on its premier spinner Wanindu Hasaranga to make an impact, with the wickets likely to suit the ace leg-spinner.

Oman, playing in its fourth T20 World Cup, will be led by the recalled Jatinder Singh. Zimbabwe has bolstered its squad by including Graeme Cremer, the 39-year-old leg-spinner who returned to international cricket last October after a seven-year absence.

Ireland, led by veteran Paul Stirling, has retained 12 players from the 2024 edition. Ireland, playing in its ninth Twenty20 World Cup, has some happy memories when in 2009 and 2022 it qualified for the second round and also beat West Indies and England.

England and West Indies are expected to advance from a group containing first-timer Italy, Nepal and Scotland.

England has loads of experienced, including Jos Buttler, captain Harry Brook, paceman Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Phil Salt and Adil Rashid, in its bid to replicate its 2022 success.

Two-time champion West Indies comes into the tournament after losing back-to-back series against Afghanistan and South Africa. Led by Shai Hope, West Indies has plenty of experienced power-hitters. Coach Darren Sammy is also banking on youngster Quenin Sampson to shine in the middle-order.

Nepal went winless in the last tournament but has improved, with 23-year-old all-rounder Rohit Paudel showing lots of composure at a young age.

Scotland, a last-minute inclusion in the draw, has Afghan-born fast bowler Zainullah Ihsan, former New Zealand international Tom Bruce and a Pakistan-heritage Safyaan Sharif. Ihsan and Sharif made it to India after visa delays which Sharif described as “hell of a week.”

Italy’s long awaited debut in a major cricket tournament will come Scotland at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Afghanistan, New Zealand and South Africa will be competing for two spots in the next stage from a group that also contains Associate nations Canada and UAE.

Afghanistan had a memorable tournament in 2024 before losing to South Africa in the semifinals. With pitches likely to suit spinners in Sri Lanka and India, Afghanistan has one of the strongest spin combinations with T20 leading bowler Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman spearheading the attack.

South Africa went close to winning its maiden Twenty20 World Cup in 2024 before failing to India in the final. Quinton de Kock, who came out of his retirement last year, has been in ominous form. Veteran David Miller has recovered from injury and is declared for the tournament.

Canada will be making its second successive appearance in the tournament after winning all the six games in the Americas Regional Qualifier. Canada finished fourth in the group stage in the last edition when it beat Ireland by 12 runs.

UAE featured in the 2014 and 2022 editions but didn't go beyond the group stage.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Sri Lanka's captain Dasun Shanaka plays a shot during the third T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb, 3. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's Jacob Bethell celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Dushmantha Chameera during the third T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb, 3. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Pakistani players and official pose for photograph with the trophy after winning the T20 series against Australia on the end of the third T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia's Matt Renshaw during the third T20 cricket match between Pakistan and Australia, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

India's captain Suryakumar Yadav waits for third umpire's decision for his wicket during the fourth T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Visakhapatnam, India, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Luka Doncic is almost certainly going to win the NBA scoring title this season. And it's now very possible that he doesn't make the All-NBA team.

That's rare, but it might be this season's reality.

The roster of award-caliber players who won't be winning awards this season continues to grow, with Doncic — the Los Angeles Lakers standout guard and MVP candidate — now out with a left hamstring injury. Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards is certain to miss the league's 65-game award eligibility threshold as well after he was held out Thursday because of illness.

Doncic has played 64 games, so he would fall just short of the mark if his hamstring issue keeps him out for the remainder of the regular season -- which has barely over a week remaining. It's worth noting that BetMGM Sportsbook, among others, took Doncic off the list of MVP betting options following his injury Thursday.

“Health is wealth. ... We'll see what happens,” Lakers star LeBron James said.

Edwards can now only reach a maximum of 64 games as well, so he won’t be on the ballot for most major NBA awards either.

It was collectively bargained — meaning the league and the players association agreed on the terms — and this is the third season of it being part of the NBA rules.

It applies to player eligibility for five awards — MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, the All-NBA Team and the All-Defensive Team. Players have to either play in 65 regular-season games (with some minutes-played minimums in there as well), or at least 62 games before suffering a “season-ending injury."

But even if Doncic's hamstring keeps him out for the rest of the regular season, it wouldn't be classified as “season-ending” unless a doctor — jointly selected by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association — says he wouldn't be able to play again through May 31.

There is a grievance process and even a way to challenge the rule citing extraordinary circumstances, but neither would be easily utilized.

Five of the league's six highest-paid players this season — Golden State's Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston's Jayson Tatum — aren't eligible for awards. Denver's Nikola Jokic is the exception on the highest-paid list, and he'd likely be ineligible if he misses another game as well.

There were 23 players on the list of those winning MVP, MIP, DPOY, All-NBA and All-Defense last season. Of those, at least 10 are out of the running for honors this season: Antetokounmpo, Curry, Edwards, James, Tatum, Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Indiana teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac, Utah's Jaren Jackson Jr. and Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams.

Another four award winners from a year ago — Jokic, Oklahoma City's Lu Dort, Golden State's Draymond Green and Cleveland's Evan Mobley — aren't at 65 games yet this season but, for now anyway, seem on pace to get there.

Never say never. The union wants changes to the policy, and it's certain to come up in their conversations with the league office. But many players — and even Andre Iguodala, now the head of the players' association — have said in recent years that the 65-game rule is a good thing.

The league doesn't seem inclined to make a change based solely on what would appear to be an extraordinary number of award candidates not hitting the threshold in one year.

“I think it is working,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month. “I think if you look at the numbers, the pre-implementation of this rule, numbers were going in the wrong direction. I may have this a little bit off: I think the three years before we adopted this rule, almost a third of the All-NBA players had not played 80% of the games. That was a huge issue for the league.”

As we said, it's rare, but it has happened. Twice, to be exact.

— 1968-69: Elvin Hayes won the scoring title as a rookie, then wasn't even All-NBA — and didn't win Rookie of the Year, either.

— 1975-76: Bob McAdoo won his third consecutive scoring title and was second in the MVP race — but didn't make All-NBA. Players voted for MVP in those days, and McAdoo was an extremely close second behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Dave Cowens was third in the MVP vote but got the second-team All-NBA nod at center, with Abdul-Jabbar the first-team pick.

Doncic could join that list. He was scheduled for an MRI on Friday to determine the extent of his hamstring injury. It's not mathematically certain yet that he wins the scoring title, but it would take something extraordinary for it not to happen.

He's averaging 33.5 points per game, with Gilgeous-Alexander at 31.6 per game. For Gilgeous-Alexander — last season's scoring champion — to overtake Doncic, he would need to go on an unbelievable run. An example: He'd need to score 292 points over the final five games to take over the top spot, and nobody other than Wilt Chamberlain has had a five-game run like that.

Of the previous 79 scoring champions, 64 were first-team All-NBA and 13 were second-team.

Jokic is going to win the league's rebounding and assist titles, while averaging a triple-double yet again. But he's also not assured yet of being on the award ballots.

The thresholds are different.

While the award mandate is 65 games in most cases, players are eligible for most statistical awards if they play in 58 games (or 70% of the season). There are different standards for some stat awards, such as field-goal percentage (minimum 300 made), free-throw percentage (minimum 125 made) and 3-point percentage (minimum 82 made).

A player can win a stat award while appearing in less than 58 games.

For example, last season, San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama played only 46 games but still won the blocked shot title. Even if he played in the minimum 58 games and recorded no blocks in the 12 games needed to reach that number he still would have been ahead of the runner-up, Utah's Walker Kessler.

AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks to make a shot-attempt in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Detroit Pistons in an NBA basketball game Monday, March 23, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (5) talks with guard Cade Cunningham (2), who did not play due to an injury, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)