Sipu Jha
NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are closing in on a decision regarding the February 15 T20 World Cup fixture between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, TimesofIndia.com can confirm. In all likelihood, the marquee clash is all set to get a green signal. It is also learnt that Imran Khawaja and Mubashir Usmani, two ICC representatives, reached Lahore on Sunday morning.TimesofIndia.com had reported on Saturday that dialogue was finally underway between the PCB and the ICC after the Pakistan government decided to boycott the T20 World Cup fixture against India in Colombo on February 15.
The PCB had invoked Force Majeure, citing government instructions not to take the field against their arch-rivals in the group stage of the multi-nation tournament. In the statement, the government did not give any further explanation or justification for doing so. In response, cricket’s global body has asked the PCB to justify how it tried to get out of the logjam as per the Terms of Participation.Pakistan chose to boycott the India fixture in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland after refusing to travel to India for World Cup matches, citing security concerns.While the Pakistan government cleared the national team to participate in the T20 World Cup, it barred them from playing India, a fixture that represents the biggest commercial draw for the ICC and its broadcast partners.The decision prompted Sri Lanka Cricket to write to the PCB, warning that the absence of the February 15 marquee clash between the arch-rivals would result in significant financial losses for SLC and damage both the organisation and the tournament’s image in the island nation, which is co-hosting the event with India.Pakistan are scheduled to play all their matches in Colombo and Pallekele, beginning with their game against the Netherlands on Saturday.Both India and Pakistan opened their tournament with a win over the USA and the Netherlands, respectively.
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