• Decision comes as ICC removes Bangladesh from tournament lineup.
• ICC chief Jay Shah criticised for partial, biased decisions: sources.
• Pakistan will play T20 World Cup 2026 matches at neutral venues.

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan on Sunday announced that it would participate in the T20 World Cup 2026 but would boycott the match against arch-rival India.

The decision, announced by the Pakistani government, follows the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) removal of Bangladesh from the tournament after Dhaka raised security concerns over playing in India.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” the government said in a post on X.

“…however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.”

The reasons behind Pakistan’s decision not to play the T20 World Cup match against India on 15 February have come to light. The move was intended to show solidarity with Bangladesh, government sources told Geo News.

Multiple factors influenced the decision, with the ICC’s perceived biased stance towards Bangladesh playing a central role, they said, adding that the Pakistani team was instructed not to take the field against India on February 15 as “a form of protest”.

The sources said that ICC chief Jay Shah’s partial decisions had effectively turned the International Cricket Council into an extension of the Indian cricket board.

They further said that these biased decisions have undermined the principles of fairness and equality, accusing the ICC of applying different standards to different countries on its platform.

“We are going to the World Cup,” Pakistan T20 skipper Salman Ali Agha said, adding, “We will do whatever our cricket board instructs us to do.”

Agha made the remarks during a post-match press conference today after Pakistan defeated Australia in the third and final T20I at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, completing a clean series sweep.

On Pakistan’s decision to boycott the match against India, he said: “The decision not to play against India is made by the government.”

The development comes after the ICC rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to move their matches to a venue outside India.

The BCB had sought the change following the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the instructions of the Indian cricket board, a move that sparked widespread outrage in Bangladesh.

However, the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament on Saturday, stating that it was not feasible to revise the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, under an existing arrangement between Pakistan and India, the Men in Green will play any ICC fixtures, including their T20 World Cup matches, at neutral venues.

For the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan’s matches are scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.

The man who drafted Sam Darnold for the New York Jets in 2018 watched from his home in Houston last Sunday as his old quarterback celebrated the NFC championship. The confetti at Lumen Field was swirling, and so were Mike Maccagnan’s emotions.

His mind wandered back to Darnold’s rainy pro day at USC, all those scouting trips to the West Coast (four consecutive weekends in the fall of 2017) and the pure elation on draft day when Darnold was available with the third overall pick.

The Jets’ former general manager recalled Darnold’s promising rookie year, and years later, he still hears the echo of that voice inside him — the one that kept saying in 2018, “We got one.” Meaning a franchise quarterback.

And so it was bittersweet for Maccagnan as he observed Darnold’s near-flawless performance in the Seattle Seahawks‘ victory over the Los Angeles Rams. While he was overjoyed for Darnold, whose crooked NFL path is one of the hot storylines heading into Super Bowl LX, it also was a heavy moment for the old scout.

“I was always kind of sad that Sam wasn’t able to fulfill that potential in New York,” Maccagnan told ESPN this week in his first interview since being fired by the Jets in 2019. “That’s where he started his journey, and, in an ideal world, he would’ve finished it there.

“But it wasn’t meant to be, and he had to go on his own journey to grow and develop in different places. It makes me feel good that he’s fulfilling his potential. It’s not necessarily vindication. In our business, when you see something, and it turns out the way you envisioned it, it makes you feel good. I think every scout probably feels that way.”

Darnold, who played three seasons in New York, was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021 — a move that still sparks debate among Jets fans. Five years and four teams after the trade, Darnold has blossomed into the quarterback and leader the Jets always expected.

And still need.

“He showed flashes; that’s why [the trade] didn’t make sense,” former Jets safety Jamal Adams said. “Our head coach that we hired [Adam Gase] didn’t really help us out now. He did not help us out.

“Sometimes you look back like ‘Golly!’ We had Sam Darnold in our hands, and now he’s going to the Super Bowl.”

Three former teammates — Adams, wide receiver Robbie Chosen and tackle Kelvin Beachum — spoke glowingly of Darnold this week in interviews with ESPN. They remembered him as a dutiful young player with exceptional arm talent, someone who blended into the locker room and cared more about X’s and O’s than X (Twitter in those days).

They also lauded his aplomb in the aftermath of the infamous 2019 “Ghosts” game, which no doubt will be brought up in the coming days because it was against the New England Patriots — his opponent on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium.

Mostly, they appreciated his ability to avoid being chewed up and spit out by an impatient league.

“Sometimes in the league, in certain situations, it’s not always the player,” Chosen said. “It takes the foundation around you that helps you become great. I remember saying it on [a podcast], when they were trying to debate with me about him as a player. I’m like, ‘He’s good, he just hasn’t been developed correctly.'”

MACCAGNAN ISN’T A spotlight seeker. He wasn’t that way in his four seasons as the Jets’ GM and he hasn’t been since his unceremonious ouster seven years ago.

Until now.

He agreed to an interview because of his affinity for Darnold and his family. Just the other day, Maccagnan saw a reposted video on social media of Darnold’s parents, Mike and Chris, hugging Sam and backup quarterback Josh McCown outside the locker room after Sam’s first NFL game — a win over the Detroit Lions on Sept. 11, 2018. Maccagnan was standing only a few feet away from the scene.

“I’m getting a little choked up, and I didn’t think I would,” Maccagnan said at the start of the interview, mentioning the video clip.

Remember when? Sam Darnold greeted by his parents after his first Jets game – Sept. 11, 2018, a win over the Lions. Quite a journey. Now he’s going to the Super Bowl … with the Seahawks. #Jets pic.twitter.com/dzZLnIP9eq

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) January 26, 2026

A highly drafted quarterback can be a legacy-defining pick for a GM. Maccagnan didn’t get enough time to see it through. His quarterback prodigy flashed potential as a rookie, but the team finished 4-12. The Jets, seemingly in a state of perpetual change, replaced Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles with Joe Douglas and Gase, respectively.

After a promising second season, Darnold showed significant regression in 2020, prompting Douglas to trade him for three draft picks, including a second-round choice.

Douglas, fired in 2024, politely declined to be interviewed for this story, referring to his post-trade comments. At the time, he expressed confidence that Darnold would develop into a good quarterback, but he felt the better long-term plan for the organization was to start over with a rookie — Zach Wilson, drafted second overall in 2021. Wilson turned out to be a major disappointment, but Douglas never second-guessed the decision, he told friends over the years.

There was sound reasoning behind Douglas’ decision, which included a financial component as well. The counterargument: Never give up on a young quarterback with potential. It will go down in Jets lore as one of the most compelling “what if?” scenarios.

What if they had drafted Dan Marino over Ken O’Brien in 1983? What if Aaron Rodgers hadn’t torn his Achilles in 2023? What if they had given Darnold another chance?

“My personal opinion: I would’ve liked to have seen him get a full opportunity there,” Maccagnan said. “But at the end of the day, I wasn’t in that building, so I can’t say, ‘They should’ve done this, this and this.’ I wasn’t around. But I was saddened to see them trade him.”

Adams was a year removed from the Jets when Darnold was traded, but his hope was to see Darnold flourish in the Big Apple.

play

Graziano praises the ‘common sense’ of Seahawks in roster-building

Dan Graziano discusses the Seahawks’ roster-building strategy, and in particular their decision to sign quarterback Sam Darnold.

“Man, if only New York had some patience with him,” said Adams, who was dealt to the Seahawks before the 2020 season. “Like, he was the guy, man. He was gonna be The Guy. He just needed time.”

The Darnold-led Jets didn’t have a strong roster or a strong infrastructure. At times, they were dysfunctional. It didn’t help that he contracted mononucleosis in 2019, which cost him three games early in the year. From 2018 to 2020, he ranked 37th out of 40 quarterbacks in Total QBR (40.3).

In Darnold’s three seasons, the Jets were 13-35. Now consider his past two seasons: He went 14-3 with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and 14-3 with the Seahawks, joining Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in history to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons.

Meanwhile, the Jets have continued to cycle through quarterbacks, going from Darnold to Wilson to Rodgers to Justin Fields, extending the franchise’s streak to 10 straight losing seasons. And now, they will most likely have a new starter in 2026.

Darnold was part of the morass, but maybe, just maybe, he needed to struggle in New York.

“Everything he has endured, everything he went through has set him up to be the player that he is, the person that he is and the competitor that he is,” Beachum said. “It’s all forged him and hardened him to be the player that he is.”

IT WAS ONE of the worst games of Darnold’s career — four interceptions in a 33-0 home loss to the Patriots on a Monday night in 2019. The enduring moment of the game actually occurred on the bench, when a miked-up Darnold told a coach, “I’m seeing ghosts.”

It was aired during the ESPN telecast. In an instant, it went viral.

Using football parlance, he admitted he was confused by Bill Belichick’s defense, creating a narrative that has followed him throughout his career. The following week, in Jacksonville, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read: “Gardner Minshew ain’t afraid of no ghost.” The Jaguars trolled Darnold by playing the “Ghostbusters” theme song in the stadium in the final seconds of a 14-point win.

To this day, he still gets asked about the “ghosts,” but not as often.

“I like the fact that he’s reached a stage where they’re talking more about the things he’s doing on the field as opposed to a sound bite from a game, said very quickly in frustration, sitting on the bench,” Maccagnan said. “That just hangs. In your head, you’re like, ‘OK, how many players has that happened to in the NFL?’ Probably not many. Those are things that kind of hang around.”

Adams said he thought back to the ghost game earlier this season when Darnold was intercepted four times by the Rams in November.

“This time, it was different,” Adams said. “He never flinched and he came back swinging. That’s what stood out to me.”

In a way, Darnold will confront his — ahem — demons in the Super Bowl. His career record against the Patriots is 0-4; he was outscored in those games 123-23. He has one touchdown pass and nine interceptions, the second-worst ratio for any quarterback against a single opponent since 1990 (minimum: 125 attempts), per ESPN Research.

Talking about Darnold, his former teammates cited his resilience as the driving force in his circuitous career.

He was traded by the Jets. Benched in Carolina. A benchwarmer for the San Francisco 49ers. Discarded by the Vikings in favor of the unproven J.J. McCarthy.

Still, he is set to become the third quarterback in history to start a Super Bowl while on his fifth team or more.

A new narrative emerged last season, following his poor performance (nine sacks) in the Vikings’ playoff loss: Can’t win the big one.

Darnold should adopt Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” as his theme song. His intangible qualities are what attracted Maccagnan to him during the scouting process. They’re also what endeared him to teammates.

“He always had that greatness within him,” Chosen said. “Seeing him have the opportunity to win it all on the biggest stage, I’m very excited and happy for him.”

Adams said, “Sam is the greatest human in the world and the coolest dude ever. Seriously, he’s not only a good football player, but a great dude and a great teammate. I miss balling with him, I tell you that, because I knew he’d show up every day for work.”

Asked to describe Darnold’s journey, Maccagnan made an abstract comparison, recalling the old Marlboro Man cigarette ads from the 1970s. The man in the ad was Darnold’s grandfather, Dick Hammer, who died when Sam was only 2.

“There’s this weathered, tough man in this iconic photo, and you start thinking, Sam, in his own way, has weathered very intense storms in his development with different environments,” said Maccagnan, acknowledging “a lot of those environments” weren’t conducive to quarterback development.

Maccagnan, a senior football evaluation specialist for SumerSports, an analytics-based company serving the NFL and colleges, acknowledged that he made his share of mistakes during his Jets tenure. But he always knew, from the first time his scout’s eyes watched Darnold play quarterback, that the kid had something.

“He’s the one I never second-guessed,” the former GM said. “I always felt he was the one I got right.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo is synonymous with the Milwaukee Bucks. But the writing is on the wall in increasingly large font that his time with the Bucks could be ending. In addition, Giannis is dealing with a calf injury that has him sidelined “indefinitely,” which practically translates to the four-to-six-week range that could have him out until March.

If Giannis were to be traded by this season’s NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5, what would it mean for fantasy squads? And what are the best and worst cases of trade destinations from a fantasy perspective?

If Giannis is on your team, would a trade change his fantasy value? And if Giannis isn’t on your fantasy squad, should you trade for him?

Let’s explore.

How fantasy managers should anticipate a Giannis trade

Giannis is the most traded player in fantasy hoops over the past week, ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michael Porter Jr., Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

This is especially interesting considering Giannis’ injury status. Based on his uncertain prognosis, it’s possible Giannis doesn’t even play again before the fantasy playoffs in March.

On the other hand, last season’s major in-season trade involved Jimmy Butler III, who was also nursing an injury before he was traded to Golden State, but Butler returned to the court immediately after the trade. Given the popularity of Giannis in fantasy trades, perhaps there is some belief that he will be moved from Milwaukee and that he might be able to return to action sooner.

Another factor in his fantasy trade popularity could be his currently depressed value. Giannis is a perennial top-five producer in the fantasy rankings, but due to the injury and trade speculation his fantasy value is as low as it has been.

So, teams willing to speculate on Giannis even given the uncertainty might agree to split the difference between Giannis’ typical top-five ranking and his current top-40 ranking in deals. And fantasy managers with Giannis might be worried enough about his situation to make deals happen.

If Giannis is traded, what are the most likely destinations? Bobby Marks wrote a detailed breakdown of the potential trade market for him, featuring what all 29 teams could offer and the 11 teams that could make the best offers.

Best-case scenario

From a fantasy hoops perspective, the best of the article’s 11 trade destinations for Giannis would likely be the Warriors. This is an ironic twist because last season the Warriors were in this space as the best potential landing spot for Butler as well. After Butler was traded there, he was a perfect fit from an NBA and a fantasy perspective.

But Butler recently tore an ACL and is out for the season. The Warriors still have veterans Stephen Curry and Draymond Green as their core and therefore need to win now.

The article didn’t include a specific proposed trade package but mentions the deal would have to include Butler and his $54 million salary. It also suggests the Warriors would likely trade Jonathan Kuminga and perhaps Brandin Podziemski, both talented young players who could become players to build around for the would-be rebuilding Bucks and up to four first-round picks. To make the salaries match, the Bucks would have to include either Bobby Portis or Kyle Kuzma.

This would be the perfect fantasy landing spot for Giannis because we would see him play next to the greatest shooter in NBA history. No player in the league collapses defenses like Giannis, and no player creates and takes advantage of space more than Curry. Plus, Curry is one of the best at moving without the ball and shooting off the pass.

Part of the reason Giannis and Damian Lillard never seemed to maximize their synergy is because Lillard liked to create his shot off the dribble and never seemed to get fully comfortable with Giannis creating his shots for him. The entire Warriors offense, including much of Curry’s synergy with Green, has been predicated on Green finding Curry for spot-up jumpers. It would be even more lethal with Giannis as the one collapsing the defense and creating even better looks.

With Giannis and Curry on the same team, opponents would have no defensive strategy to cover that one-two punch. Outside of Curry, and previously Butler, the Warriors don’t have any other high-usage shot creators. On the Warriors, Giannis would be able to maintain his maximal usage but against much softer defensive coverage. This could result in increases in volume and efficiency for Giannis and even more 3-point production from Curry and the other Warriors.

Worst-case scenario

From a fantasy hoops perspective, the worst-case scenario would be Giannis being traded to a contending team with multiple high-usage shot creators who would take the ball out of his hands or an equal opportunity offense where Giannis can’t be featured to the same extent.

Of the teams deemed best situated to deal for Giannis, the Houston Rockets (assuming they kept Durant and Alperen Sengun), the New York Knicks (if, as the article mentions, they swap Giannis for Towns straight up), the Oklahoma City Thunder (next to Gilgeous-Alexander and potentially Jalen Williams and/or Chet Holmgren) and the San Antonio Spurs (next to Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox) are all teams that would become championship favorites with Giannis but that would depress his fantasy value.

And adding Giannis to any of those teams would just as likely attenuate the fantasy values of the other star players on those teams.

What to do

If Giannis is on your fantasy team

• Explore his trade value in your leagues. If you can get a top 10 to 15 player in value in return you should strongly consider dealing him to avoid the uncertainty of the injury and unknown potential trade destination.

• Even if you can only get top 20 to 25 value, it could be worth it, particularly because the injury could keep him sidelined for much of the remainder of the fantasy season.

If Giannis isn’t on your fantasy team

• Explore how much the manager with Giannis wants for him. The ideal profile of a team that should trade for him is a team already near the top of a league that is likely to make the playoffs, even if Giannis doesn’t play until the fantasy playoffs.

• For a team like this, dealing for Giannis now at roughly top-25 player value could result in them adding a top-five caliber player just in time for their playoffs run. If you deal for Giannis, you know you’re taking a risk, so use your mouthpiece to try to make the deal for as little as possible.