The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken an unprecedented step by imposing fines of ₹50 lakh (Pakistani rupees) on every player for their disastrous T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
The decision was reportedly made immediately after their defeat to India in the group stage, marking what could be the first instance of such collective punishment in cricket history.
Decision Made After India’s Loss
The PCB under chairman Mohsin Naqvi decided to penalize the players much before their official elimination from the tournament. The trigger was Pakistan’s loss to arch-rivals India last month, which set the tone for another disappointing World Cup campaign.
Pakistan’s Poor Tournament Performance
Pakistan barely scraped past Netherlands and struggled throughout the Super 8s. In their final match against Sri Lanka, they needed to restrict the opposition to 147 or less after posting 212 to qualify for the semi-finals on net run rate.
Instead, they barely won by five runs, highlighting their inability to perform under pressure.
Captain Salman Agha admitted after the Sri Lanka match: “If you look at the whole tournament, we underperformed. Our middle order never performed, and we over-relied on Sahibzada [Farhan] for our runs.”
What About Sahibzada Farhan?
The blanket fine raises serious questions about fairness, particularly for Sahibzada Farhan, who was Pakistan’s standout performer.
Farhan scored 383 runs in seven matches at an average of 76.60, surpassing Virat Kohli’s record of 319 runs in the 2014 T20 World Cup for most runs in a single edition.
He also became the first player ever to score two centuries in one T20 World Cup tournament.
PCB’s Justification
PCB officials justified the fines by arguing that players receive rewards for good performances and victories, so they must face consequences for failures.
This comes after Naqvi had promised major changes following Pakistan’s failure to reach the Super 8s in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they lost to USA and India.
