PCB's about turn, set to play India as per schedule in ICC T20 World Cup 2026

The ICC was yet to formally clarify the status of the India-Pakistan match, but PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi indicated a softening of their stance.

Mumbai : Pakistan will play India in a T20 World Cup blockbuster clash slated for Sunday in Colombo after three-way discussions between the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday night in Lahore charted out a solution.

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi (AFP)

The confirmation came after the Pakistan government said in a statement that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed the Pakistan cricket team to take the field against India following a briefing by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi and at the urging of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the President of Sri Lanka, with whom he held a telephone call on Monday evening.

The statement was in effect a reversal of a social media post Sharif had issued on February 1 directing the Pakistan team not to take the field in the World Cup match against India. Sharif later told his cabinet that the post was to show solidarity with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which was voted out of the competition after their demand to shift matches away from India to Sri Lanka for security reasons was rejected.

The PCB was facing pressure from a number of ICC member boards who questioned their decision to boycott the money-spinning India match.

Sharif said Pakistan had reviewed the formal requests extended to the PCB by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, as well as the supporting communications from Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and other member nations.

“In view of the outcomes achieved in multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15, 2026, for its scheduled fixture in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Moreover, this decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the spirit of cricket, and to support the continuity of this global sport in all participating nations,” the statement said.

Naqvi had earlier indicated a softening of Pakistan’s stance in a press conference in Lahore on Monday evening.

“When you have a guest (ICC) coming home, we have learnt that you have to be respectful. When someone comes on their own, you forget a lot of things,” he replied to a query about whether the PCB had been firm in their negotiations with the ICC.

“The issue was about Bangladesh. We had to make sure their point of view was not compromised,” Naqvi added, saying that the cricket board will go back to the prime minister for advice.

ICC on its part, said in a statement, that the Bangladesh Cricket Board would not face any financial, sporting or administrative penalty.

“As part of this understanding, an agreement has been reached that Bangladesh will host an ICC event prior to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2031, subject to the usual ICC hosting processes, timelines and operational requirements,” the statement added.

BCB has already been named co-hosts of the 2031 ODI World Cup with India and will retain the rights, security permitting.

By late Monday evening, even the BCB president Aminual Islam issued a press release thanking the PCB and requesting them to play the India match “for the benefit of the entire cricket ecosystem”.

“The profound gratitude expressed by our brotherly nation is received with great warmth. Pakistan reaffirms that it stands shoulder to shoulder with Bangladesh,” Sharif said in his statement.

“It was agreed that all members will respect their commitments as per the terms of participation for ICC events and do all that is necessary to ensure that the ongoing edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is a success,” the ICC statement announcing a breakthrough after the meeting said.

“The PCB came to the meeting with a long list on the negotiating table but was only half serious about some of their demands,” an ICC director told HT.

Among the demands raised by the PCB was a tri-series between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to compensate the BCB for their World Cup non-participation. The BCB also sought confirmation of India’s bilateral white-ball series in Bangladesh, scheduled later in 2026. For both demands, the ICC advised the parties to reach out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as bilateral and tri-series understandings were outside the ICC’s purview.

To give themselves some takeaway after agreeing to reverse their strong stance, the PCB strongly pitched for the BCB to be compensated in some form.

Broadly, the PCB is known not to have been adversarial in their negotiations after realizing they were on weak legal ground. After they invoked force majeure - a legal measure that excuses a party from performing their obligations in the face of an unforeseeable event (a government directive, here) — the ICC wrote back asking them about the steps they had taken to mitigate force majeure.

The PCB had taken no such steps, basing their strategy on the refusal of government permission for not playing India. In their communication to the PCB, the ICC also outlined the conditions under which force majeure can realistically and legitimately be invoked. There was mention of the evidentiary threshold required for non-participation besides outlining the sporting, commercial, and governance implications of such a step. The PCB faced the threat of bearing commercial losses from a no show in the India match, losing their share of ICC revenue and facing isolation in the cricket community.

ICC allowed the PCB the optical leverage of conducting talks in Lahore and deputed Imran Khwaja, deputy chair, for negotiations. This was considering the high stakes at play given the commercial worth of an India-Pakistan tie to any ICC event.

Market estimates suggest that this match alone could account for about 20% of an ICC men’s world event.