At last, the inevitable happened, and the much-awaited U-turn is here. On Monday night, the Government of Pakistan directed the senior men’s team to take the field against India in the Men’s T20 World Cup on February 15 in Colombo. This development marked the end of a week-long negotiation between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the Government of Pakistan that first announced the decision not to play India, and the same entity reversed it a week later. Earlier, the ICC released a statement stating that no penalty or sanctions would be imposed on Bangladesh for not playing in the T20 World Cup, while also guaranteeing the BCB the honour of hosting an ICC tournament between 2028 and 2031. This major announcement paves the way for the blockbuster India vs Pakistan match to go ahead as initially planned on February 15. Although an official confirmation from either PCB or the government of Pakistan is awaited, the game is pretty much on.
Moments before the official announcement, the BCB had requested Pakistan to reverse its decision to forfeit the match against India. It came shortly after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi dropped a clear hint, following the PSL auction in Lahore, that a potential U-turn on the India boycott threat could be on the cards.
During the same PSL event, former PCB chief Najam Sethi teased that some ‘good news’ about Pakistan cricket is on the way and that Naqvi will be the man to announce it. Naqvi suggested that the final decision could take longer. Meanwhile, a report claims the ICC has rejected all three major demands made by the PCB, likely stretching the matter for a few more hours, if not days.
The standoff between the ICC and PCB is nearing its end, with Pakistan set to overturn its boycott of the India T20 World Cup match. However, as the final decision rests with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has made things interesting by urging the PCB to reverse its stance and grant approval for the contest on February 15. Both PCB and PCB have also demanded that the ICC arrange a tri-series featuring India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the foreseeable future, although the International Cricket Council has made no such commitment.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) put forward some demands during their meeting with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) two-member delegation on Sunday. The meeting was held to find a resolution to the impasse over the T20 World Cup and the India-Pakistan match. The meeting was also attended by BCB chief Aminul Islam and the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi. Earlier, the PCB had denied approaching the ICC after reports surfaced that back-channel talks began between the two parties regarding the fate of the T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 in Colombo.
