Sri Lanka President breathes sigh of relief, thanks Pakistan PM for agreeing to play India in T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup Group A match between India and Pakistan will be played on Sunday, February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for reversing his earlier decision and paving the way for the T20 World Cup 2026 match between India and Pakistan to go ahead at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, February 15. The entire saga began on February 1, when the Shehbaz-led Government announced that the senior men's team wouldn't take the field against India in the tournament. This led to one week of back-channel negotiations, and it all came to an end when Shehbaz made a U-turn.

India will face Pakistan on Sunday. (AFP)

Late on Monday night, the official announcement was made, following the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirming that no sanctions would be imposed on Bangladesh for not being part of the T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh were also given the hosting rights for one ICC event before 2031.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Sri Lanka President thanked Sharif for ensuring that the match goes ahead as planned and there are no more hiccups.

“Thank you, Prime Minister @CMShehbaz, for ensuring the game we all love goes on. Delighted that the eagerly awaited India and Pakistan match at the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup in Colombo will proceed as planned,” the Sri Lanka President wrote on X.

“As co-host of the tournament, Sri Lanka thanks the @ICC and all concerned for their efforts. Sri Lanka hasn’t forgotten the solidarity shown by both India and Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup, when they played in Colombo at a time when others refrained due to security concerns,” he added.

The Sri Lanka President had also phoned Sharif on Monday evening, urging him to reconsider his stance and grant clearance for the Pakistan team to play the fixture against India. Had the match not gone ahead, then Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) would have incurred severe financial losses, and the tourism industry would have also taken a massive hit.

SLC's letter to the PCB

Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket also wrote to the PCB, urging them to reconsider the decision, saying that financial losses would be massive if the match didn't go according to plan. The PCB was also reminded that Sri Lanka was the first team to tour the country when international cricket resumed in that part of the world. The 2009 Lahore attack was also cited in the official communication.

Before the official announcement, even Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi urged the PCB to play the match against India, keeping the betterment of the sport in mind.

The entire matter began when Bangladesh was ousted from the T20 World Cup after refusing to travel to India due to security concerns. When Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi first threatened to pull out of the tournament, and eventually it was decided that Pakistan wouldn't play India.

This led to the ICC delegation arriving in Lahore to hold talks with both PCB and BCB, and in the end, the two-hour meeting did the needful.