In the wee hours of Tuesday (February 10, 2026), phones buzzed in specific offices in Dubai, Delhi, Mumbai and Islamabad, and a seemingly amicable solution was arrived at. The ICC T20 World Cup’s top-billed clash featuring India and Pakistan in Group A, will indeed happen as scheduled at Colombo on February 15.

While questions will swirl around the placement of India and Pakistan in the same group in ICC events, it has to be conceded that it is a commercial decision that helps the official broadcaster and the ICC rake in the moolah. The historical angst underpinning Indo-Pak encounters adds another distinct layer too, even if the jingoistic promotional campaigns deserve the dustbin.

The earlier state of limbo about this overhyped clash was caused by an overreaction from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which stated that since Bangladesh was removed from the championship, Salman Agha’s men would not play against the Men in Blue! The historical truth of Bangladesh being carved out of Pakistan in 1971 was conveniently forgotten in the quest for a new brotherhood.

That Bangladesh queered the pitch too by demanding a neutral venue away from India, at the last-minute, had already worsened the drama. And Dhaka’s strident move was provoked by the BCCI instructing Kolkata Knight Riders to axe pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League. This was seen as Delhi’s way of staging a cricketing protest over the violence against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh.

It was this move that drew instant reactions from the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the PCB. Soon, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and their respective cricketing boards and governments, got embroiled in a convoluted mess of injured sensibility and over-reactions that catered entirely to their domestic political domains.

Carrot of sops

The medley of rescue efforts involved the Sri Lankan Government, the alleged ICC carrot of sops to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the stick of penalties. Truth be told, cricket did not win. But what is definite is that the complexities of sub-continental politics again played second-fiddle to the commercial judgment of going ahead with the game. All other lines in press-releases are just platitudes.

The uncertainty over the high-octane T20 World Cup Group A fixture between India and Pakistan in Colombo on February 15 was lifted late on Monday (February 9, 2026) night. Before the Men in Blue took part in a training session under lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday (February 10), in the lead-up to Thursday’s (February 12) clash against Namibia, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate weighed in on the confirmation that the clash between the arch-rivals will go ahead.

“First of all, I think it’s great that the game is back on. We kind of never changed our preparation that the game wasn’t going to happen, we were always under the impression that something would transpire and we would play. We got confirmation late yesterday and early this morning that the game was going to go ahead and we’d like to have another chance to play against a quality side,” ten Doeschate told the media here.

In India’s 29-run victory against the USA, an indisposed Jasprit Bumrah was missing in action, while Abhishek Sharma didn’t take any part in the second half of the game after getting out for a first-ball duck. Bumrah and Washington Sundar, who have recovered from a rib injury, were back in training on Tuesday (February 10). Abhishek wasn’t part of the practice session.

“Abhishek has still got a few issues with his tummy, we hope that he’ll be available for the game. Bumrah has been off 10 days without bowling, but he’s feeling a lot better and moving a lot better,” ten Doeschate informed.