India on Tuesday said it will be “a challenge” to face a “quality” Pakistan team in Colombo after authorities in Islamabad instructed the national team to play the scheduled ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match on February 15.
The federal government late on Monday ended a week-long stand-off by revoking its order to the cricket team to boycott the clash.
“It’s great that the game is back, we kind of never changed the preparation,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said.
India will face another Group A match against Namibia on Thursday in New Delhi before flying to Sri Lanka.
That means a quick turnaround for Sunday’s game, the biggest and most lucrative showdown in world cricket.
“It will be a challenge to go to Colombo where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks,” Ten Doeschate added.
“We are excited to get another chance to play against a quality team in the first stage of the tournament. “We are fully focused on just bringing our best game to that game.”
Pakistan warmed up to the clash in perfect fashion with a second win of the tournament in Colombo on Tuesday by 32 runs against USA.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan, who topped with 73, said: “The battle is on and we are in a confident mood.”
The last time the teams met, at last year’s T20 Asian Cup, India beat Pakistan thrice en route to lifting the trophy in Dubai.
“This time it will be different and we will give a strong performance,” Farhan said. “We lost all three matches, including the final to India in the Asia Cup, but they were not one-sided.”
Pakistan’s decision to go ahead with the match was hailed on Tuesday as a burst of “good sense” and “good for cricket”.
In a hectic weekend of talks, leaders of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) flew to Lahore on Sunday to talk to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both wrote to the Islamabad government on Monday urging it to change its stance and allow the game to continue.
‘Spirit of cricket’
Following “multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan national cricket team to take the field on February 15,” the Islamabad government said on its official X account late Monday night.
The decision was taken with the aim of “protecting the spirit of cricket”, it added.
Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal said so AFP on Tuesday that it was “good for cricket”. “We want strong teams to play so that the charm of the World Cup is not lost,” he added.
Sri Lanka, which will host the match, which generates several million dollars in advertising, broadcasting rights, sponsorship and tourism, also praised the decision.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in a social media post, thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “ensuring that the game we all love continues”.
This was told by the veteran Indian journalist Pradeep Magazine AFP“good sense has prevailed on all sides”. Financial considerations would have been taken into account, he added.
“Everyone realized that loss of revenue from an India-Pakistan match would have been a lose-lose situation for all ICC member nations.”
Acrimonious build-up
The 20-team tournament has been overshadowed by a tough political structure. Bangladesh, who refused to play in India citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.
In protest, Islamabad ordered the national team not to face co-hosts India in the Group A match.
Pakistan, who knocked out the Netherlands in the tournament opener on Saturday, would have conceded two points had they lost the match.
Pakistan will play all their T20 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka as part of an ICC agreement that ensures the two nations only meet on neutral territory.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Friday, ahead of their opening win against the USA, that his team would travel to Colombo for the clash whether the match was on or not.
“We have not said no to playing them,” said Suryakumar. “Our flight is booked and we are going to Colombo.”
