India vs Pakistan match is going to happen 100 per cent, says star player and Dhoni’s CSK teammate

Pakistan cricket team will not step on the field against Team India in their Group A match of the T20 World Cup 2026 set to take place on February 15.

The Pakistan Government have rocked the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 even before the tournament can get underway on Saturday (February 7) by announced that their national team will be forfeiting their Group A fixture against arch-rivals Team India on February 15. The decision is yet to be communicated officially to the International Cricket Council (ICC) even days after Pakistan announced this decision via a social media post on ‘X’ on Sunday.

The ICC are hopeful that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will change their mind about the February 15 clash which is scheduled to take place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Former India and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the high-profile India vs Pakistan is going to ‘100 per cent’ take place as scheduled.

“100 percent, the match between India and Pakistan will happen. I feel that it will happen. The next 3-4 days will see these decisions being overturned. And that’s my hunch and I hope I want to see the India-Pakistan encounter. Because there are a lot of business decisions in this,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.

WATCH Ravichandran Ashwin speak about India vs Pakistan match in T20 World Cup 2026 HERE…

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“Pakistan has another problem. There may also be financial loss as you will have to reimburse the broadcasters whatever loss they have incurred. So I think they will have to come for a compromise. The financial thing involved in this will mean that other ICC member countries too will face a loss. In the ICC meeting, all these members will say because of Pakistan, we are getting these losses. PSL is also going to happen. Even in PSL, players can say that we will not come,” Ashwin added.

In the past ICC tournaments have witnessed boycotts by teams like Australia and West Indies, who refused to travel to Sri Lanka in 1996 ODI World Cup while England and New Zealand forfeited their matches in Zimbabwe and Kenya during the 2003 ODI World Cup.

Ashwin, who announced his retirement from MS Dhoni’s CSK last year, said that previous team boycotts were due to security and travel issues. But Pakistan’s threat is different this year as they have agreed to a ‘hybrid model’ with ICC in tournaments hosted by India and the BCCI.

“We will talk of the 1996 World Cup and also of the 2003 World Cup. Teams refused to travel to Sri Lanka. They fortified the matches. In the 2003 World Cup also, teams forfeited matches due to security and travel. But those are venue based problems. Right now. Pakistan and India will be playing in a neutral venue. There is no problem with the venue also. So after all of this. To say I will not play a particular opponent is just not acceptable in many ways. I hope better sense prevails and these matches do take place,” Ashwin felt.

The Pakistan government had announced about Pakistan not taking the field against India on February 15 and ICC have warned about the implications of such a decision.

“The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of,” an ICC statement read.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/

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The Times Of Bengal