By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@T20WorldCup.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will resume talks following the Pakistan government’s call to boycott T20 World Cup match against India.
The match is scheduled to be played in Colombo on February 15.
Tensions escalated between after Bangladesh’s star pacer Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the alleged direction of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), triggering widespread outrage in Dhaka.
The president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Ameenul Islam, will also be present.
Bangladesh pulled out of the T20 World Cup, which started on Saturday, after the ICC rejected their request to move their matches from India amid rising political tensions.
Pakistan’s government then said its team would be boycott the match against India on 15 February – with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the decision was made to “support” Bangladesh.
Should Pakistan boycott the match, they would forfeit the points available and the absence of the fixture could have significant consequences for the game, given it is the most lucrative in the sport.
It could lead to disputes over the ICC’s current rights deals and continued uncertainty could impact future agreements, with the current TV deals set to run out after the 2027 World Cup.