India, Feb. 1 -- Pakistan's confirmed boycott of the India group match doesn't just remove the marquee - it re-wires Group A's qualification math overnight.

In a standard tournament framework, a team that doesn't take the field is treated as a forfeit/awarded match. That typically means:

So India start the group stage with what is essentially a head start, while Pakistan lose both points and margin-for-error.

Group A teams: India, Pakistan, Netherlands, Namibia, United States. Top two progress to Super 8.

India: the runway gets longer

With 2 points banked, India don't need to chase perfection. Realistically:

Pakistan now have only three on-field games to collect points:

This group used to have one obvious "swing match". Now it's mo...