By Admin 
T20 World Cup 2026: Before the T20 World Cup 2026, once again a big suspense has arisen regarding India-Pakistan cricket. The tournament is to be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 and Pakistan has received official approval to participate in it. However, there is a decision associated with this approval, which has shocked the cricket world. Pakistan has announced to distance itself from the group stage match against India.
India will get two points without playing
According to the decision of the Government of Pakistan, the India-Pakistan group match to be held in Colombo on 15 February will not be played. This simply means that India will get two points through walkover. In a small tournament like T20, these two points are considered very important. At the same time, this decision can make the path ahead more difficult for Pakistan.
Why was this big decision taken?
The root of this entire dispute is related to security and political consensus. Earlier, Pakistan took this decision after the controversy regarding Bangladesh and allegations of double standards leveled on ICC. In the agreement signed last year, it was agreed between India and Pakistan that during the ICC tournament, both the teams will not visit each other’s country in view of security and political sensitivity and the matches will be held at neutral venues. In this context, this decision was taken after the meeting between PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The path ahead is very difficult for Pakistan
Not playing the match against India in the group stage will also affect Pakistan’s qualification hopes. Only the top three teams from the group will advance. In such a situation, Pakistan will have to win all its matches against America, Netherlands and Namibia. Not only victory, but net run rate will also be a big challenge for them. Rain or any one bad performance can spoil their game.
What will happen if there is a clash in the knockout?
The biggest question is what will happen if India and Pakistan come face to face in knockout matches? No clear answer has come from PCB or ICC on this yet. The India-Pakistan match in the semi-finals or final is the biggest attraction for ICC. Broadcasting earnings worth crores are associated with such matches.
If Pakistan refuses to play the match even in the knockout, it will not be just a team’s decision, but questions will be raised on the credibility of the tournament and the credibility of the ICC. It is clear that the real picture of the India-Pakistan contest is yet to be revealed, and this issue may take a bigger form in the coming days.