Pakistan’s cricket team will play its T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 upon the orders of its government, reversing its earlier decision to boycott the game against its old rival, citing geopolitical tensions.
“The government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan team to take the field on February 15, 2026, for its scheduled fixture in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the government said in a statement on Monday.
The announcement came shortly after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and relayed the outcomes of his meeting with representatives of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Top officials of the ICC held reconciliatory talks with BCB President Aminul Islam and Naqvi on Sunday with the aim of convincing Pakistan to call off its boycott of the marquee clash.
Pakistan’s government said it had “reviewed formal requests extended by the BCB, as well as the supporting communications from Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and other member nations” which sought “a viable solution to recent challenges”.
Additionally, Pakistan’s PM Sharif received a phone call from Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who urged Pakistan to reverse its decision.
Pakistan are scheduled to play all their World Cup games in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament with India.
The cancellation of the high-profile game would have dealt a financial blow to the island nation, which relies heavily on its tourism industry.
Hours prior to Pakistan’s reversal of its decision, the ICC issued a statement regretting Bangladesh’s “unfortunate absence” from the tournament after the global cricket body kicked out the nation over its refusal to travel to India.
The ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland last month after the South Asian nation said it wouldn’t play its World Cup games in India due to safety and security concerns for its players and staff.
It was an unprecedented decision, and one that had a knock-on effect on the tournament as Pakistan, in a show of solidarity with Bangladesh, said it would not play against India.
Pakistan’s boycott was the first of its kind in the history of India-Pakistan games in any ICC event, and shocked the world of cricket.
Backdoor negotiations, calls and meetings followed, culminating in the ICC officials’ arrival in Pakistan last weekend.
The latest meeting between the global body and the two South Asian boards resulted in an agreement to go ahead with the game as scheduled.
“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 said in a brief statement after Pakistan called off its boycott.
Promises to Bangladesh
The ICC said it would facilitate the growth of the game in the country of “more than 200 million passionate fans” so that the team’s ouster from the T20 World Cup “does not have any long-term effects on cricket in the country”.
Simultaneously the ICC announced that “no financial, sporting or administrative penalty will be imposed” on Bangladesh.
The ICC added that “an agreement has been reached that Bangladesh will host an ICC event prior to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2031”.
