Special dinner for Team India at Gautam Gambhir’s house in Delhi | T20 World Cup
“There are important meetings going on. Hopefully, there is now a big ray of hope that the India-Pakistan match will go ahead as planned,” sources following developments in Pakistan told TOI.Earlier, Khwaja – acting as a mediator in a highly sensitive situation – was received at the Lahore airport by Amir Mir, Naqvi’s adviser. The ICC official is believed to have traveled with the sole aim of saving the spectacular India-Pakistan match, which is of huge commercial value to the ICC and its member boards.Both the PCB and the International Cricket Council are keen to resolve the impasse sparked by Pakistan’s proposed boycott of the high-profile competition. The meetings in Lahore are expected to be followed by a virtual meeting of the ICC Governing Council late on Sunday. Khwaja, who represents Singapore on the ICC board as an associate member director, is considered one of the governing body’s most influential figures and has voting rights. He was formally mandated by the ICC Council to mediate and find a way out of the impasse.
Vote
Do you think the India-Pakistan match will go ahead as scheduled on February 15?
Bulbul is also expected to play a role in discussions aimed at persuading Pakistan to reconsider its decision to skip the Colombo match.Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier said the national team would boycott India’s match in solidarity with Bangladesh, which was replaced by Scotland after it refused to travel to India for the World Cup matches, citing security concerns.However, the situation may now be volatile after Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Shammi Silva wrote to Naqvi urging the PCB to call off the boycott, warning that a no-show would also result in heavy financial losses for Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, the ICC has asked the PCB to clarify how the “force majeure” clause could be invoked to justify Pakistan’s refusal to play the match after the board cited its government’s directives.With the PCB now in talks with the ICC, momentum seems to be building towards a possible resolution.The chain of events was triggered after Bangladesh pulled out of their World Cup matches in India after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders team on BCCI’s instructions.