Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi named Sri Lankan President Anur Kumar Dissanayake as the real hero of Pakistan’s decision to boycott the turnaround and play against India during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan had earlier announced that it will boycott its T20 World Cup match against India, expressing solidarity with Bangladesh to travel to India.
The turnover occurred on February 9 after a long round of discussions with representatives of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the ICC was held to convince Pakistan to reconsider its proposed boycott. Sri Lankan President Dissanayake also personally called Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif and asked him to allow the team to participate in the match.
After the match, Naqvi met with Dissanayake and said that he was the reason why the match went ahead.
“First of all, warm greetings from the President of Pakistan (Asif Ali Zardari) and the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Shehbaz Sharif). They specially asked me to convey their greetings to you. In yesterday’s match, you were the real hero because 2 billion people had fun because of you. So only because of you, we played the match,” President Mohsariya Lankemar said in Kukuraq.
“We had a few problems about playing India, but as soon as the Prime Minister received your phone call, he called me and said, ‘There is no problem anymore… we have to play the match. That’s it.’ I am very grateful to you for playing a very important role in this,” said Naqvi.
WHAT HAPPENED IN IND VS PAK?
After all, the match against India was not a sweet memory for Pakistan they were pretty beaten up in Colombo. Powered by Ishan Kishan’s brilliant 77, India posted 175 on a tricky pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
The Indian bowlers were out on the money as Pakistan crumbled in front of Naqvi, who was present for the game. The loss meant that Pakistan’s match against Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday, February 18, became a must-win game for Salman Ali Agha and his men.
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Published on:
February 18, 2026