T20 World Cup: India said to travel to Sri Lanka for Pakistan clash amid boycott call

Despite Pakistan deciding to boycott their group-stage T20 World Cup clash against India on February 15, the Indian team will still travel to Sri Lanka and follow full ICC protocol, ANI has reported citing sources. The Men in Blue will go through all formalities, including practice sessions, media duties and arrival at the stadium, and then wait for the match referee to officially call off the game.

This comes after Pakistan government formally decided to boycott the high-profile group-stage clash against India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. No official reason was provided by the government for opting out of the fixture.

“Team India will travel to Sri Lanka and follow ICC protocol. They will practice as per schedule, do a press conference and reach the stadium according to time and wait for the match referee to call off the match,” a source told ANI.


Meanwhile, Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Rajiv Shukla has said that India will wait for ICC talks on the ongoing row.

India head into the World Cup in strong form, having recently beaten New Zealand 4–1 in a five-match T20I series. Pakistan, meanwhile, have struggled historically against India in T20 World Cups. The two teams have met eight times in the tournament, with India winning seven matches and Pakistan only one.

Bangladesh replaced by Scotland

The Pakistan decision likely follows a broader ICC row last month involving Bangladesh.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had announced that Scotland would replace Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India over what it cited as security concerns.

After reviewing multiple independent security assessments, the ICC concluded there was “no credible or verifiable security threat” to Bangladesh’s team in India and refused to shift its matches to Sri Lanka.

When the BCB failed to confirm participation within the ICC’s deadline, Scotland, the highest-ranked non-qualified side — was brought into the tournament.

T20 World Cup Group A Line-Up and schedule

The defending champions India are placed in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, the USA and Pakistan.
India’s fixtures:
• Feb 7 – vs USA
• Feb 12 – vs Netherlands
• Feb 15 – vs Pakistan (subject to forfeit decision)

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 runs from February 7 to March 8 across India and Sri Lanka.

Squads

India squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan squad:

Salman Ali Agha (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (WK), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.