Pakistan to play T20 World Cup clash against India: state- run media – Pakistan
Pakistan has agreed to play the match against India in the T20 World Cup, state-run Pakistan TV reported on Monday night.
In a post on the social media platform X, the broadcaster said: “Pakistan has agreed to play the T20 World Cup match against India on February 15, following requests from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with India accepting Pakistan’s preconditions”.
The development comes as a delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) arrived in the country and held meetings with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the team’s participation in the match against India.
Sri Lanka urges Pakistan to play match
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged Pakistan to play its T20 World Cup clash against India. He made the request during a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Pakistan fully supported Sri Lankan cricket during terrorism in Sri Lanka,” he was quoted as saying.
“Pakistan gave priority to its long-standing relations with Sri Lanka above all else, and the Pakistani cricket team continued to tour the country to play cricket despite terrorism,” Dissanayake said.
The premier welcomed the Sri Lankan president’s sentiments and noted how Colombo also stood with Islamabad during difficult times and kept cricket going in Pakistan.
“Recently, the Sri Lankan team took an unforgettable step for the Pakistani nation and cricket fans by not cancelling the tour of Pakistan,” PM Shehbaz was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, PM Shehbaz said he would inform the Sri Lankan president about a “final decision” regarding the Pak-India match after consultations.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) thanked the PCB for its solidarity, while BCB President Aminul Islam urged Pakistan to play the February 15 match against India.
The BCB expressed gratitude to the PCB and ICC for their “positive roles in trying to overcome recent challenges”, particularly thanking the PCB, its Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and cricket fans in Pakistan for their support.
“Throughout this period, the PCB has demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship and solidarity,” the statement read.
Quoting BCB President Islam, the statement read, “We are deeply moved by Pakistan’s efforts to go above and beyond in supporting Bangladesh during this period. Long may our brotherhood flourish.
“Following my short visit to Pakistan yesterday and given the forthcoming outcomes of our discussions, I request Pakistan to play the ICC T20 World Cup game on 15 February against India for the benefit of the entire cricket ecosystem,” Islam added.
The government had given the cricket team the nod to participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, but said the Green Shirts would not play their match with arch-rivals India, scheduled to be held in Colombo.
The decision had come after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament, following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka’s cricket board asked Pakistan to reconsider the decision to boycott the match; Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown.
It should be mentioned that Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments.
