Pakistan

Ishan Kishan defies a tricky Colombo pitch with 77 as India beat Pakistan by 61 runs in Group A of cricket’s T20 World Cup.

Defending ‌champions India have thumped Pakistan by 61 runs in a grudge Group A match of the ⁠Twenty20 World Cup to ⁠secure their place in the Super Eight stage of the cricket tournament.

Ishan Kishan’s breakneck 77 powered India to 175-7 on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium, where Pakistan’s spin-heavy ⁠attack managed to apply the brakes to an extent after the opener’s exit.

The tournament co-hosts returned to bundle out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs to register their third win in a row.

The ⁠match went ahead after Pakistan earlier reversed their decision to boycott the game in solidarity with Bangladesh, whose team refused to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced by Scotland.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his India counterpart Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands at the toss, though.

India were reinforced by the return of Abhishek Sharma, ‌who missed the first two matches with a stomach infection. But the opener could not make it count.

Pakistan’s Salman sprang a surprise by opening the attack himself, and the move paid off as the spinner trapped Abhishek lbw to remove the reigning number one batter in T20 Internationals.

Pakistan used three spinners in the powerplay to try and stem boundary flow, and India’s score of 52-1 after six overs suggested the ploy worked to an extent.

Kishan could not be contained, ⁠though, and the diminutive southpaw tore into the Pakistan attack with his ⁠take-no-prisoners batting.

The opener took only 27 balls to race to his second successive fifty of the tournament.

Saim Ayub ended Kishan’s 40-ball blitz, but India were 92-2 at the halfway stage of their innings.

Ayub (3-25) dismissed Tilak Varma (25) and Hardik Pandya with successive ⁠deliveries to turn the heat back on India.

Suryakumar (32) and Shivam Dube (27) could not quite provide the late flourish to take India past the 200-mark ⁠that had looked well within their reach at one stage.

Pakistan ⁠became the first team to employ six spinners in a T20 World Cup match, but the joy of having restricted India under 200 evaporated soon as they slumped to 13-3 in two overs in their chase.

Pandya removed Pakistan’s in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan ‌for a duck, and Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ayub and Salman in the same over to pin down Pakistan.

Babar Azam (five) did not last long either, and Pakistan were gasping at 38-4 after the six powerplay ‌overs.

Usman ‌Khan (44) defied India for a while, but Axar Patel lured him out to be stumped to effectively snuff out Pakistan’s chances of an unlikely victory.

For a while it looked like this match would not happen.

Pakistan, whose last win against India was at the Asia Cup in 2022, announced a boycott a week before the tournament began, only to reverse their decision at the start of this week after extensive talks.

It went ahead, in front of a large crowd weighted towards Indian blue, because it is the most lucrative fixture in the world game, providing the funds upon which cricket’s ecosystem survives in its current imperfect state.

How long that remains the case given India’s dominance, built from their cricketing and financial might, remains to be seen.

Kishan’s assault gave India breathing space and their bowlers were ruthless, even if their fielders dropped three catches.

After Pakistan’s seamers went the distance, Hardik began with a wicket maiden – dismissing right-hander Sahibzada Farhan, who skewed a pull shot high to mid-on.

In the next over, the majestic Bumrah pinned left-hander Saim Ayub in front with full inswinger before Pakistan Salman Agha holed out playing a wild slog.

Even Pakistan’s biggest name, Babar Azam, was tamely bowled for five attempting a swipe to left-arm spinner Axar Patel in the fifth over, while left-handers Mohammed Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf meekly picked out fielders in the deep.

After all of the build-up this was another underwhelming meeting.

Pakistan on Monday reversed their decision to boycott their T20 World Cup match against India, but rain could intervene.

Indian captain Suryakumar ⁠Yadav said his players ⁠are not concerned about the threat of rain for Sunday’s Twenty20 World Cup clash with Pakistan, adding that the defending champions are focused on preparing for the showdown between ⁠bitter rivals.

Pakistan had initially boycotted the Group A fixture in Colombo over Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament for refusing to play in India over security concerns, but reversed their decision on Monday.

But weather forecasts have warned ⁠of heavy rain between Sunday afternoon and evening, casting new doubts over the match.

“Weather is something which is not in our control,” Suryakumar told reporters on Saturday.

No complacency from India against Pakistan

He said the clash would not be a routine game for the co-hosts.

“When you play an India vs Pakistan game it’s more about the occasion. It’s a ‌big platform, obviously. No matter how many times you say, it’s just another game … It’s human tendency, you know which game you’re about to play,” the 35-year-old said.

“Whatever we have worked hard on and practised, we try to execute them in the game.”

India and Pakistan have both won two games each in the tournament. While Pakistan played both their games in Colombo due to an agreement that they would play each other only on neutral venues, India arrived after a win over Namibia on Thursday.

Suryakumar said ⁠India would not be disadvantaged by unfamiliarity with the ground.

“We have similar wickets ⁠back home, and we’ve played a lot of cricket here during bilaterals against Sri Lanka, so we’re also very familiar with the conditions,” he said.

India and Pakistan most recently faced off in last year’s Asia Cup, where India won all three of their ⁠meetings, including the final.

“You can’t carry history into the ground, because it can cause complacency,” Suryakumar said.

India ready for Pakistan’s ‘out of syllabus’ Tariq

India have carried out preparations to ⁠face Usman Tariq, a spinner with an unorthodox action, who took ⁠three wickets for Pakistan during Tuesday’s win over the United States.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said earlier on Saturday that Tariq was a trump card against India.

“At an exam, when there’s an out-of-syllabus question, we can’t just skip it; we have to try something to ‌tackle it,” Suryakumar said about Tariq.

“We practise with similar bowlers, with similar actions. We’ll try to execute what we practise in the net sessions.”

Salman had also expressed hope that Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who is the ‌highest-ranked ‌batter in the 20-over format, will play on Sunday after missing the previous game due to illness.

“All right, if (Salman) wants him to play, then we’ll play him tomorrow,” Suryakumar said about Sharma.

Karachi, Pakistan – As rain and thunder threatened to disrupt their team’s T20 World Cup match against India on Sunday, Pakistan’s cricket fans are bracing for a different storm – the now-customary loss against their archrivals at global events.

Pakistan have not beaten India in the tournament since 2021 when they recorded a solitary win in eight T20 World Cup encounters against their formidable opponents.

Despondent fans have now shifted from anticipating a thrilling, unpredictable game to praying for a miracle as Salman Ali Agha’s team step on the field at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Pakistan’s latest “win” came in the form of a move to boycott the match on political grounds. Despite the eventual reversal of the decision after weeklong negotiations with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the initial decision to not take the field against India was seen as a triumph by cricket fans in Pakistan.

Despondent or optimistic, fans still eager for match

Escalating political tensions between the South Asian neighbours have seen a decades-old sporting rivalry turn into an ugly debacle both on and off the pitch with customary handshakes avoided and light jibes replaced by controversial hand gestures invoking their most recent armed conflict in May.

Politics and sport blur boundaries on both sides of the border, making these fixtures an exhibition of nationalistic pride that can sometimes turn distasteful.

The pre-match jingoism in Pakistan, though, was short-lived. It has been replaced by bitterly disappointed fans airing their thoughts in the form of self-deprecating memes or reels depicting the “foolishness” of a section of fans expecting a win.

“We’ll have heartbreak on February 14 and 15,” read the captions of several social media posts set to melancholic songs on Valentine’s Day, the eve of the match.

Supporters – both hardcore and casual – will religiously watch the three-plus-hour encounters. Come 6:30pm (13:30 GMT) on Sunday, the public will be glued to screens across the country to watch the high-stakes match.

Roadside tea stalls will be thronged by male spectators filling up wooden benches, plastic chairs or squatting on their haunches in front of small TV screens.

Food delivery riders busy with an overflow of match-day meal orders will occasionally halt their journeys to catch a glimpse of the action on their phones or through restaurant windows.

Upscale eateries will bring in large screens and host groups of young fans and families.

Domestic responsibilities will be wrapped up before the start of the match, and extended families will gather around a living room TV with drinks, snacks and feasts of biryani.

The weekend – now the standard time that all India-Pakistan matches are played for economic and logistical reasons – will offer some respite from an otherwise hectic schedule of school and office routines that throw the heaving metropolis of Karachi into transport turbulence.

India favourites, but Usman Tariq could spin a win

Despite the days of anticipation and hours spent preparing for the showpiece, fans remain realistic in their expectations.

On a balmy late Friday afternoon in Karachi as life gradually returned to its normal pace after an hour-long pause for midday prayers at mosques across the city, a group of young law students picked up their kits for a local league match.

“It’s looking 70-30 in India’s favour,” Talha Bandayal, a law student, told Al Jazeera as he watched his teammates play a cricket match in their local lawyers league at the historic Karachi Parsi Institute on Friday.

Bandayal and his friends plan to watch the match at a restaurant in one of Karachi’s posh localities.

“It’s a Pakistan-India match. We’re excited regardless of the result!”

Syed Ahmed Shah, who officiated the league match as a third umpire, was more sceptical of the team’s chances and more in tune with the country’s overall opinion of Pakistan’s expected performance.

“Sport is just like politics in our country,” a bespectacled Shah opined dryly to everyone’s amusement, drawing comparisons between the nation’s two most favoured topics.

“India is far superior to us, not just in cricket but everything,” Shah told Al Jazeera.

Cricket analysts have appeared on national talk shows throughout the week, dissecting the team’s shortcomings, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s organisational failures and the squad’s weak mental fortitude for a match of this proportion.

Local cricketers like Bandayal have been analysing Pakistani players’ strengths and weaknesses. Usman Tariq’s unreadable spin action and variations are being seen as Pakistan’s secret weapon.

When life comes to a standstill

When it comes to off-field behaviour, though, India’s trend of avoiding handshakes with Pakistani teams has been frowned upon.

“Politics should strictly be kept separate from sports,” a local cricket coach who requested anonymity said of Suryakumar Yadav and his team’s controversial actions from the Asia Cup last year.

“But if India takes that stance, Pakistan also needs to have some self-respect and respond accordingly,” the 46-year-old coach said.

Admittedly, the handshake row has taken centre stage in a fixture that has historically been remembered for scintillating bowling performances, swashbuckling innings or nail-biting finishes.

When Pakistan awakes on Sunday morning, most cricket fans will begin their day by playing their own cricket games – whether in narrow neighbourhood streets or vast, dusty fields hosting multiple matches simultaneously. As the evening draws closer, the clothes will be dusted off and equipment packed away for the showdown in Colombo.

Just as the hustle and bustle of life gave way for prayers two days earlier, the India-Pakistan match will do the same.

After all, it’s only cricket and Friday prayers that can bring life to a standstill in Pakistan.

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Almost 30 years ago today, India and Pakistan formed a combined cricket team to take on Sri Lanka ahead of the 1996 Cricket World Cup in an unprecedented moment of unity in the sport’s history.

The two age-old rivals put aside their differences and came together in an act of solidarity to support a fellow South Asian team, who faced the threat of match boycotts in a tournament they had battled hard to host.

India versus Pakistan is the most highly marketed fixture at every multination tournament – the World Cup, Asia Cup or Asian Games – whether it’s a men’s, women’s or Under-19 event.

Few sporting events globally carry the weight and anticipation of an India-Pakistan cricket match. So, when Pakistan’s government ordered its team not to face India at the ongoing T20 World Cup, the tournament was briefly pushed into a state of chaos.

It also left Sri Lanka, the designated host of the fixture, holding its collective breath.

A week of negotiations led to a dramatic late U-turn by the Pakistani government and the match will now take place as scheduled on Sunday at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.

But what if the boycott had gone ahead? The impact could have been catastrophic, not just for Pakistan, but also for the International Cricket Council (ICC), as well as Sri Lanka.

With the crisis seemingly averted, the island nation stands poised to reap the benefits in its financial landscape, diplomatic standing and community.

‘Massive impact’ on tourism

For a country that is still grappling with the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2022, an India-Pakistan cricket fixture at a World Cup could prove to be a godsend.

The tourism and hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit during Sri Lanka’s financial meltdown and this match will see an enormous influx of fans from India and Pakistan coming into the country.

Hotels in and around Colombo were fully booked out well ahead of the tournament but the industry braced itself for heavy losses after Pakistan threatened a boycott.

“There’s been a massive impact since the boycott was announced,” Sudarshana Pieris, who works in Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector, told Al Jazeera.

“All major hotels in Colombo were fully booked by Indian travel agencies well ahead [of the match] and once the boycott was announced, we lost almost all of those bookings,” he said.

“But after Pakistan reversed their decision, hotel room rates shot up by about 300-400 percent at five-star establishments in Colombo.”

It’s not just hotels but several other local businesses – from street vendors to high-end restaurants – who are hoping for an increased footfall and spending over the weekend.

These short trips and the experiences they offer could influence visitors to extend their stay or return to Sri Lanka on holiday, long after the game has ended, in a potential long-term benefit to the industry.

Another relatively underestimated impact of the game would be the employment opportunities it creates, albeit temporarily, in the media, event management, security and transportation industries.

Asanka Hadirampela, a freelance journalist and broadcaster currently working as a Sinhala language commentator for the World Cup, recognises the marquee match as a great opportunity from a personal standpoint.

“This is my first World Cup as a broadcaster,” Hadirampela said.

“The India-Pakistan fixture is the biggest and most-watched game of the tournament. So to get to work on such a match is exciting and I consider it a special achievement.”

A geopolitical win

The lines are always blurred between sport and politics in South Asia.

So while the financial gains are expected to be significant, the fixture’s impact on the region’s geopolitical environment cannot go amiss.

Pakistan’s boycott, too, was explicitly political, as confirmed by the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif when he said that they were offering support to Bangladesh after the Tigers were kicked out of the tournament by the ICC.

The reversal of Pakistan’s decision, which they said came after requests to reconsider the boycott by several regional “friends”, was steeped in politics, too.

Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reportedly had a phone conversation with PM Sharif, urging his government to rethink their decision to boycott the game as the successful staging of this encounter would not only position Sri Lanka as a capable host of global sporting events but also reinforce its standing as a neutral mediator in a region fraught with geopolitical complexities.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have always maintained strong diplomatic relations, which have extended to the cricket field as well.

Sri Lanka were one of the first teams to travel to Pakistan following their 10-year ostracisation from international cricket, which came as a result of a terrorist attack targeting the Sri Lankan team in March 2009.

When Al Jazeera reached out to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), its vice president Ravin Wickramaratne confirmed that SLC did, indeed, reach out to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the boycott was announced.

“We asked them to reconsider the decision,” Wickramaratne said.

“It [boycott] would have impacted Sri Lanka economically, whether directly or indirectly.

“We have always had a good relationship with the PCB and we have always supported them, so we’re happy with their decision.”

A little over 24 hours ahead of the match in Colombo, there is a sense of palpable excitement and a growing buzz around the fixture as it returns from the brink of cancellation.

As of Saturday morning, 28,000 tickets had been sold for the game but local organisers expect a capacity crowd of 40,000 to make it into the stands.

Come Sunday, thousands more will line the streets in and around Maligawatte, the bustling Colombo suburb that houses the famous Premadasa Stadium.

Mumbai, India — For Indian cricket fans travelling to Sri Lanka this weekend, the opportunity to watch their team take on archrivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup has come at the cost of inflated airfares, soaring hotel prices and a long wait for matchday tickets.

But these are mere sacrifices that thousands are willing to make to witness the most heated rivalry in the sport as it unfolds on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Fuelled by a decades-long fraught political relationship, cricket encounters between India and Pakistan are among the biggest spectacles in sport — often framed as bloodthirsty contests of national pride.

For the first time in the history of the World Cup, geopolitical tensions threatened to put the marquee contest in doubt until Pakistan’s government reversed its order for a boycott of the match.

While the near-last-minute U-turn revived excitement, it came at a price for the Indian supporters making late travel plans. Pakistan’s participation was confirmed only six days before the fixture, triggering a sharp surge in airfares from several Indian cities.

Fans who booked their air tickets weeks in advance, too, paid significantly higher fares due to the significantly higher demand surrounding any India-Pakistan match, which is commonly deemed the most lucrative fixture in cricket.

“I paid a premium of approximately 50 percent compared to the usual rates,” Aditya Chheda, a finance professional from Mumbai, told Al Jazeera. “This was despite booking a month in advance and opting for a layover instead of a direct flight.”

Flight, hotel prices skyrocket

A nonstop round-trip journey from India’s western metropolis Mumbai to Colombo, which typically costs approximately $275, went upwards of $1,000 two days before the match.

Similar fares were spotted for nonstop journeys from Bengaluru in southern India, while round-trip nonstop flights from Chennai to Colombo – a route that takes only about an hour and 20 minutes – had surged to at least $550, up from its usual fare of $165.

Planning ahead helped Bengaluru resident Parth Chauhan secure deals at a good price, but his friends accompanying him to Colombo had to pay a steep premium – three times the usual cost – after booking closer to the match date.

Accommodation costs rose sharply as well. Tariffs at five-star hotels in Colombo ranged between $400 and $1,000 per night from Saturday to Monday, when most spectators were expected to fly in and out.

Chauhan, who works in a cybersecurity organisation, had to wait a whopping four hours in a virtual queue to buy match tickets, but he insists the hassle was worth the wait, as he gears up to watch India play abroad for the first time.

“It’s an opportune moment, and there is a lot of exuberance to witness this because it’s a historic fixture,” he said.

For a lucky few, the surprise came not from the difficulty of securing tickets but from their unusually low price. Piyush Nathani, an IT professional from Bengaluru, paid only $5 for the fixture, which draws millions in broadcast, sponsor and advertising revenue.

“This is the cheapest ticket I’ve ever purchased. Just $5 to watch a World Cup match, that too of the magnitude of India vs Pakistan, is a steal,” said Nathani, who has travelled with a group of six friends.

‘More than a cricket match’

Having been part of the Ahmedabad crowd in 2023 that saw India beat Pakistan in a 50-over World Cup group game, Nathani is relishing the chance to watch Sunday’s match in a neutral venue, where fans from both countries are expected to be present.

“The feeling of beating Pakistan is something money cannot buy,” added the 29-year-old.

Like Nathani, Chheda has also travelled abroad previously to watch Team India. The 32-year-old watched India lift the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados and now wants to “pick up where I left off”.

“When there’s a World Cup, the first thing Indian fans hope for is to beat Pakistan,” he added.

“Winning the World Cup is the biggest target, but beating Pakistan feels like a moral victory – it’s more than a cricket match.”

When India and Pakistan meet in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, the match will not just be significant for its on-field cricket action but also the political climate that has shrouded the encounter and the tournament itself.

The South Asian nations share a decades-old history of wars and hostile relations. The most recent encounter came in May 2025, when the nuclear-armed neighbours were engaged in a four-day cross-border conflict.

This 78-year-old bitter history has fuelled the sporting rivalry, which has – at times – led to tournament boycotts, cancelled matches and ground invasions.

Players from both teams have often been involved in heated encounters on the field, but have also publicly shared lighter moments off it.

However, the lingering hostility of the last conflict has made a severe and long-term impact on cricket, which is the most widely followed sport in South Asia.

We look back at the deteriorating cricket relations between India and Pakistan since the May conflict and the on-field events steeped in politics:

September 14 – No handshake row

The controversy began when India’s Suryakumar Yadav opted out of the customary pre-toss captains’ handshake with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha, prompting fans to wonder if politics were at play.

The doubts were cleared at the end of the match when, after hitting the winning runs, Yadav and his batting partner Shivam Dube walked off the field without approaching the Pakistani captain and team for the traditional post-match handshakes.

Pakistan’s players trudged off in a group and waited for the Indian squad, but the Indian contingent only shook hands with each other before walking into their dressing room and shutting the door as the waiting Pakistan players looked on.

Later, Yadav confirmed that his team had planned to not shake hands with Pakistani players all along, linking it to the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that preceded the May conflict.

“A few things in life are above sportsman’s spirit,” the 35-year-old said.

September 17 – Pakistan refuse to take the field against UAE

The fallout of the handshake row carried over into Pakistan’s next group game in the Asia Cup, when they refused to take the field against the UAE in protest against match referee Andy Pycroft.

Pakistan insisted that Pycroft be removed from their fixture as he was the key official in the India match and helped carry out India’s request that the captains not shake hands at the toss.

“Andy Pycroft had barred the captains of India and Pakistan from shaking hands during their match,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.

The Pakistan-UAE match was delayed by an hour as negotiations took place behind closed doors, and Pycroft apologised for the “miscommunication”.

September 21 – Players exchange heated words, make references to conflict

When the teams met for the second time in the Asia Cup, players from both sides were seen exchanging verbal blows in the middle of the pitch.

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf had a go at India’s batter Abhishek Sharma, who later said his match-winning innings of 74 runs was a response to Pakistani players.

“The way they were coming at us without any reason, I didn’t like it at all,” Sharma said after the match.

Rauf was also seen making gestures towards the Indian supporters while fielding on the boundary. He held up his hands to indicate the numbers six and zero, a reference to Pakistan’s claim of downing six Indian jets during the May conflict.

The fast bowler also made gestures indicating an aircraft nosediving into the ground.

Following the match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against Rauf and Pakistani batter Sahibzada Farhan, who marked his half-century with a mock gun celebration.

Pakistan, too, lodged a complaint against India’s captain Yadav for using his post-match press comments to mention the Indian missile attacks in Pakistan.

September 28 – India refuse to receive trophy from Pakistani official

The controversial tournament peaked in the final when India, who beat Pakistan by five wickets, refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy because it was presented by Mohsin Naqvi, who is the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president as well as the chairman of the PCB.

Naqvi is also Pakistan’s federal interior minister.

“We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan,” Devajit Saikia, the chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said.

The final award presentation was delayed by more than an hour due to India’s refusal and Naqvi’s insistence on presenting the trophy. The Indian team celebrated by pretending to hold a trophy.

India’s captain Yadav added it was the team’s decision to refuse the trophy and “no one told us to do it”.

October 5 – Handshake row hits Women’s Cricket World Cup

When India and Pakistan faced off at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Sri Lanka, the Indian women’s team followed the precedent set by the men’s side by not offering to shake hands with the opposition.

November 4 – ICC sanctions Indian and Pakistani players for on-field behaviour

Five weeks after the conclusion of the Asia Cup, the ICC said Rauf, Farhan and Yadav had been found guilty of breaching its code of conduct and bringing the game into disrepute.

Yadav and Rauf were fined 30 percent of their match fees from the September 14 match and received two demerit points each, while Farhan walked away with a warning and one demerit point.

Rauf was found guilty of the same offence in the final and handed the same punishment, which led to a two-match ban on him.

Meanwhile, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who displayed a plane-crashing celebration of his own in the final, was also found guilty and handed one demerit point.

January 25 – Pakistan casts doubt on T20 World Cup participation

Following Bangladesh’s ouster from the T20 World Cup, Pakistan said it would reconsider its own presence at the tournament.

“The prime minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I’ll be able to give you our final decision,” PCB chief Naqvi said.

February 1 – Pakistan announces boycott of India match

In an unprecedented decision at a World Cup, Pakistan’s government said its team would not take the field against India on February 15.

A few days later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed the move was an act of solidarity with Bangladesh.

February 9 – Pakistan reverses boycott

More than a week later, Pakistan reversed its decision and said its cricket team had been ordered to take the field in the match on Sunday.

Pakistan’s government said it had “reviewed formal requests extended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, 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”, referring to its decision to boycott the game.