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)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Rob Sand rallied a crowd for the first time as the official Democratic nominee for Iowa governor on Sunday, kicking off a countdown to November with the support of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of the most competitive in the country as Iowans face a state budget deficit, struggling agricultural economy and cancer crisis. Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles, hoping his message of unity will resonate with their fellow Iowans.

A few hundred people in Des Moines roared, waved campaign signs and snapped photos as Sand took the stage, a state flag hanging behind him.

“You might think we have a big hill to climb. I've seen bigger,” Sand said. “We're building a coalition of — not red versus blue — but of the well-fed versus the fed-up.”

Sand, who was unopposed on the primary ballot, learned who his opponent would be after Tuesday’s primary settled an unpredictable five-way Republican contest.

The rally was the first one that Tracy Schloss has ever attended. A lifelong Democrat, Schloss said he doesn't like the state's direction after nearly a decade of total Republican control, saying the leaders have “lost sight of the common people.”

“It's time, you gotta step up or the country will still keep going the way it's going," said the 62-year-old retiree from Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.

Schloss said he thinks Sand is a “bright spot" who can get voters excited, and he's more optimistic than he's been in recent years that the election will be a success for Democrats.

Iowa has open races for both governor and U.S. senator for the first time since 1968, plus three battleground congressional races. National attention on the state has soared in recent months, drawing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Iowa.

Democrats still have a 200,000-person deficit in statewide voter registration, and they are outnumbered in every House district. Sand, along with Senate candidate Josh Turek, say they can win over independents and Republicans who are frustrated with party politics and a Republican trifecta in Washington and Des Moines that they blame for the state's challenges.

Turek will face U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who already has portrayed Turek as a liberal puppet for party leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Lahn has also rejected Sand's nonpartisan pitch.

“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lahn said in his victory speech Tuesday. “He’s a liberal career politician pretending to be someone he’s not.”

As he has during campaign events over the past year, Sand asked attendees to sing the first verse of “America the Beautiful.” And when he introduced himself, he talked about his upbringing hunting, fishing and going to church.

Even if Sand is elected governor in November, he will likely have to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, which recently passed bills to restrict the executive’s power that outgoing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law.

Sand said it's good to have balance rather than a political system centered around amassing power and punishing political enemies.

“We have found ourselves in this position because we have too many people who want us to only think about red or blue,” Sand said Sunday. “Red and blue are colors.”

Neither Sand nor Lahn use their party's traditional blue or red in campaign materials, opting instead for green. They both say they aren’t beholden to their party establishments and that Iowans want a new direction, though Lahn’s Republican Party has held a statehouse trifecta for nearly a decade.

Little known before his bid for governor, Lahn made a splash as a business owner criticizing farm consolidation and tax breaks for corporate giants, a regenerative farmer who subscribes to Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and a former political operative who galvanized Iowa’s conservative grassroots.

Sand’s campaign has given about $750,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party already this cycle, funding that Republicans call hypocritical for a candidate who claims he is not a party man. The Sand campaign says that sum reflects his investment in a state party-run coordinated campaign that will help him get elected as governor, even as it also supports candidates up and down the ballot.

“Rob Sand loves to talk about rising above the ‘two-party system’ — right up until it’s time to campaign, cash checks, and share the stage with Democrat Party insiders," Iowa Republican spokeswoman Jade Cichy said in a statement Sunday.

Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2028, told a cheering crowd Sunday that he's “all in” for electing Sand.

As Democrats continue to debate what went wrong in 2024 and the direction of the party, Beshear has offered up his own example as the leader of a red state for lessons on how the party can go forward.

“I am living, breathing proof that Democrats can win anywhere, and we should be fighting everywhere,” Beshear told the crowd Sunday.

In addition to rallying with Sand, Beshear also attended a “Beers with Beshear” fundraiser for congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, who wants to unseat Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in the competitive House district that includes Des Moines. Beshear told The Associated Press that he would see Turek, too.

The Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, gave the Iowa Democratic Party about $140,000 so far this cycle, according to filing reports.

Iowa democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand speaks to media after voting on primary Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)