Inside India vs Pakistan Drama: Who Blinks First? | FIFA World Cup T20 2026 Explainer
From this point of view, Pakistan took the first opportunity it got to find its way back into the ecosystem.Watch the sequence of events…Last week, it took the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) no more than 90 minutes after concluding these so-called talks with the ICC to go back to the Prime Minister and get permission to play. It’s remarkable that the cricket board has such access to the PMO – that you can knock on its door at 11.30 at night and come back within half an hour with the answer: ‘Yes, we’re playing.’Each country – be it India, Pakistan or in this case even Bangladesh – draws conclusions from its own perspective on how things have developed. But here is a question that can be answered collectively: What would be the consequence if India and Pakistan did not play this match on Sunday and if this whole India-Pakistan-Bangladesh relationship fell apart in the background of everything that happened in the last month?The answer is clear: Cricket in the Indian subcontinent would die — at least for the next 5-10 years.
An India-Pakistan fan arrives to watch the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
This means that the cricket economy worth around US$ 250-300 million would be completely wiped out of the game.This would have a cascading effect not only on India and Pakistan. It would have a cascading effect on any India-Pakistan-Bangladesh game. It would have a cascading effect on the Asia Cup. The existing property rights cycle would die overnight.In the ICC media rights spectrum, the Indian market is being sold on its own. Imagine the impact this would have on India’s rights.Think of the credibility the ICC would lose as a result of abolition. Will they be able to take the tournament or media rights cycle to another broadcaster or sponsor in the future? What credibility would the ICC members have left? That your participating countries can simply drop out of the tournament a week or a fortnight before it starts? Do you think any top dollar investor would ever think of putting money here?I think people don’t understand the gravity of what I’m saying.Eight full members within the ICC membership are on the brink of bankruptcy at any given time. Can they afford to miss out on these opportunities – especially those that come during ICC tournaments?Entry fees are the bread and butter for some teams to run their cricket.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav, left, smiles as he and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha walk onto the field for the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Pakistan’s withdrawal threat was bogus. It’s not that Mohsin Naqvi doesn’t understand these numbers and basic facts, just as he understands very well that running away with a trophy doesn’t really mean anything.In the end, it’s very nice to come out with a smile on your face and say, “Whatever, we’ve got our demands,” and the clueless digital bots on X encourage those claims.But truthfully, what requirements have been met?In 2024, the ICC tournament — Women’s World Cup was withdrawn from Bangladesh. Bangladesh will have another tournament between 2029 and 2031 right? It’s basically the same tournament that won’t be happening now.
An Indian fan waits for the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan to start in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Besides, I don’t think the ICC has gone ahead and given anything beyond what they were already owed. So all the chatter that the ICC was under pressure and did this or that is just hype. The more important aspect of this discussion is that nobody wants to talk about the pressure that cricket has been under in the subcontinent.And then you blame India and say they are happy to play IPL and don’t care about others?India likes to enjoy IPL, bilateral rights and revenue from ICC rights. There is always enough cash ringing in to help them keep their huge home circuit going and make enough distributions within the ecosystem like pension funds, contracts, membership grants, infrastructure grants, and so on.Others must take care of themselves; this is where sayings proclaiming false bravado don’t always fit.When this match happens and the players take the field, there can be all kinds of posturing – whether they shake hands or not, all the drama. There can be words exchanged, trophy moments and so on. People on X (formerly Twitter) will come and have opinions, argue, troll, abuse.But the only people who would lose in the end are those who have been making threats, making false claims, and waiting for an excuse to turn around.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Mohsin Naqvi in a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The bottom line is this: after a certain point, such threats don’t work.Let’s agree that BCCI was wrong in what they did to Mustafizur Rahman. They shouldn’t have done that. The timing, the rationale—everything was wrong.But I’ve always said two wrongs don’t make a right.The BCCI made a mistake by removing Mustafizur just before the World Cup, leaving the ICC on the spot.The moment the BCCI accepted Mustafizur’s challenge, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to widen the issue. It was election season in Bangladesh and one must remember that politics works the same in all parts of the world.They saw the perfect opportunity to raise the stink.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah (Photo: ICC)
The mistake they made was not going on the tour of India for security reasons – following the BCCI’s decision to cancel Mustafizur’s IPL. The moment they said it was for “security reasons”, the ICC had no choice but to do an independent risk assessment.Had Bangladesh said on day one that it had nothing to do with security risks and that it was taking a stand in response to what BCCI did to Mustafizur, it would have become a diplomatic issue between India and Bangladesh; and Pakistan would in no way have an opportunity to interfere as it would be a bilateral matter.But Bangladesh, making it a security issue, took 15-20 days in an independent assessment, giving Pakistan enough time to engage in some mischief.Later, Bangladeshi officials themselves admitted off the record that their government had clearly told them not to visit India. Fair enough, but that’s also the stance they should have taken publicly.The PCB offering solidarity to a country that hasn’t cared to tour Pakistan for over a decade and then turning to the opposite side to paint an eventual scenario where they play India but Bangladesh end up out of the tournament doesn’t really help anyone.So what kind of solidarity are we talking about?No one in their right mind has found it safe enough to travel in Pakistan – never mind India. To this extent, India has stated on record that in case of ICC or ACC tournaments, the Indian team will not tour Pakistan and Pakistan will not tour India. They will play at a neutral venue.There is a signed agreement between the two neighbors on this cycle of rights and others, which highlights this.What if India says we don’t want to go there, that’s it – either you come here or you’re out of the tournament? Then statements like Nasser Hussain – “What if it was India?” – made sense.Not when BCCI agreed to play this fair because they know very well that their participation alone keeps cricket going in the Indian subcontinent.This match was to be played in Colombo. Pakistan could not withdraw from the signed legal agreement by citing “force majeure”.Whoever thought of sharing this great idea at PCB clearly doesn’t understand how a ‘higher power’ works. It does not work on the idea of so-called “solidarity” which lacks logic or reason.Instead, the legal ramifications would start piling up if Pak didn’t make the U-turn and they knew it well.What higher power were PCB officials even talking about? For the Prime Minister’s office to call at 11.30pm that his country will not play a certain country in a global tournament where you have signed specific agreements to that effect means nothing, just how the Prime Minister’s office turned around a few days later means nothing.So let’s just go ahead and say it – thankfully the focus is back on the game and all the hype has evaporated.The India-Pakistan clash is no longer the stand-alone economic juggernaut it once was. India versus Australia is cricket’s biggest rivalry – economically speaking. There are numbers that underline this fact.The India-Pakistan spell is long gone. In fact, Pakistan only made it worse by trying to get on a bandwagon that was not theirs and in return they looked like gold diggers holding the ecosystem to ransom.