Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday urged Pakistan to play its T20 World Cup clash against India.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, he made the remarks during a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Pakistan fully supported the Sri Lankan cricket during the terrorism in Sri Lanka,” he was quoted as saying.
“Pakistan gave priority to its long-standing relations with Sri Lanka above all else, and the Pakistani cricket team continued to tour the country to play cricket despite terrorism,” Dissanayake said.
The premier welcomed the Sri Lankan president’s sentiments and noted how Colombo also stood with Islamabad during difficult times and kept cricket going in Pakistan.
“Recently, the Sri Lankan team took an unforgettable step for the Pakistani nation and cricket fans by not cancelling the tour of Pakistan,” PM Shehbaz was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, PM Shehbaz said he would inform the Sri Lankan president about a “final decision” regarding the Pak-India match after consultations.
The government had given the cricket team the nod to participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, but said the Green Shirts would not play their match with arch-rivals India, scheduled to be held in Colombo.
The decision had come after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament, following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka’s cricket board asked Pakistan to reconsider the decision to boycott the match; Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown.
On Sunday, a delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) arrived in the country and held meetings with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the team’s participation in the match against India.
Skipper Salman Agha has stated that if Pakistan were to face India in a semi-final or final, they would again consult the government.
It should be mentioned that Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments.
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