A decision on whether Pakistan will boycott next month’s T20 World Cup is set to be made by early next week.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair Mohsin Naqvi held talks with the country’s prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, on Monday to discuss their participation in light of Bangladesh’s withdrawal.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland on Saturday for the tournament which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka between 7 February and 8 March.
Naqvi said in a post on X, external he had “a productive meeting” with Sharif where he “briefed him on the ICC matter”.
“He [Sharif] directed that we resolve it while keeping all options on the table,” Naqvi said.
“It was agreed that the final decision will be taken either on Friday or next Monday.”
BBC Sport understands that in addition to a full boycott of the tournament Pakistan officials are considering just boycotting their match against India.
Pakistan are due to play India at the T20 World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 15 February in accordance with an agreement signed last year saying the two countries will play at neutral venues whenever one of them hosts an ICC event.
Political tensions mean the two countries have not faced each other outside men’s major tournaments since 2013, while India have not played in Pakistan since 2008.
The ICC has been approached for comment.
Pakistan’s response comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had asked for their World Cup fixtures to be switched from India citing safety concerns.
There has been growing tensions between the countries and Bangladesh requested their games were played in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament, instead.
The ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request, saying there was an “absence of any credible security threat” before the BCB reaffirmed its position.
BBC Sport understands Pakistan supported Bangladesh’s position in an emergency ICC board meeting held last Wednesday.
In a statement released last Saturday, in which they announced the decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland, the ICC said it had “engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner”.
“In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule,” the ICC statement added.
The ICC also said it was keen not to establish “precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events”.
This month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India told Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman because of political tensions.
