India, Feb. 1 -- Pakistan's decision to boycott the India game at the 2026 T20 World Cup didn't arrive out of nowhere. It's the end-point of a month-long chain reaction that began with one franchise flashpoint, snowballed into a Bangladesh-ICC standoff, and then led Pakistan into a "participate, but protest" compromise.

What looks like a single fixture call is really the latest episode in a tournament that's spent January fighting fires off the field as much as on it.

Early January: The chain reaction begins around Mustafizur Rahman and the Kolkata Knight Riders. The episode becomes a talking point far beyond IPL roster churn because it is framed in Bangladesh as a safety-and-security trigger for travelling to India.

That's the moment ...