After the major drama surrounding their World Cup participation and the boycott of the game against India, Pakistan have backed off from their stance. Indian fans have now launched a scathing attack on the PCB, while Virat Kohli’s former coach calls this expected theatrics from the Pakistan side.
The India vs Pakistan rivalry has been a decade-old saga in the gentleman’s game. The rivalry intensified when the two teams slowly gained a reputation in the game and were soon crowned heavyweights in ICC tournaments. However, alongside the on-field rivalry, the two nations are also in a state of diplomatic battle.
Over the past two years, the diplomatic tensions have largely affected the cricket boards of the two nations. From India denying travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy to Mohsin Naqvi walking away with the Asia Cup trophy, the snubbing of handshakes between players, and now finally a T20 World Cup boycott, the world has witnessed it all.
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Pakistan held onto their standpoint of not playing against India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup until yesterday. They had formerly claimed that the decision made by the government is supreme and the PCB will abide by the orders from the government.
However, as per recent developments, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has come forward to make a demand to the Pakistan team to back off from their boycott stance and play against India in the upcoming ICC tournament.
Following this demand made by the BCB, the PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi has stated that the steps adopted by them were in the best interest of Bangladesh and they did nothing for themselves; hence, with Bangladesh themselves issuing a green signal, Pakistan have agreed to play against India, thus reversing their standpoint.
Virat Kohli’s childhood coach turns hostile towards Pakistan, calls the boycott a major theatrics
After the recent buzz over social media, the Indian great Virat Kohli’s childhood coach, Raj Kumar Sharma, has also made a remark, attacking the Pakistan government as well as the PCB for pulling out ‘cheap tricks’ in order to get attention ahead of multi-nation tournaments.
He has claimed that this was nothing more than another act of theatrics from the Pakistani board. They supported Bangladesh and then realised later how crucial the India game is for them; otherwise, they could incur losses, and hence, now they have swapped tracks.
“This was Pakistan’s drama, which is what they always do. They supported Bangladesh, then pushed them aside, and now they have realized how much they will lose if they don’t play against India. So, these kinds of things are expected from Pakistan,” he said to ANI.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Pakistan to play against India in the T20 World Cup, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli’s former coach, Raj Kumar Sharma, says, “This was Pakistan’s drama, which is what they always do. They supported Bangladesh, then pushed them aside, and now they have realised how… pic.twitter.com/dO1ddT5dBv
— ANI (@ANI) February 10, 2026
Pakistan’s stats against India in the ICC T20 World Cup history
India and Pakistan, the arch-rivals, have clashed against each other on multiple occasions. It was not until the 2021 World Cup that Pakistan could ever manage to win a single game against the Men in Blue in the ICC T20 World Cup history.
The India-Pakistan matches hold a deep history, as the Men in Blue have emerged victorious on 7 occasions out of the 8 times these two have clashed in the ICC T20 World Cup. It also includes the famous bowl-out victory for India in their first-ever T20 World Cup clash in 2007.
Pakistan were also defeated by India during the last edition of the World Cup, and they have met in every edition of the World Cup at least once since the 2012 edition.
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