BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said on Sunday that the issue surrounding the India–Pakistan group-stage clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 rests solely with the International Cricket Council.
Speaking on the sidelines of a dinner hosted by India head coach Gautam Gambhir at his residence in New Delhi, Shukla said, “We have left everything to the ICC. We will follow whatever decision the ICC takes.”
His remarks came days after Pakistan announced it would not play its scheduled group-stage match against India on February 15 in Colombo.
The development has drawn reactions from former cricketers. Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly termed Pakistan’s move “surprising”, pointing out the importance of every match in a World Cup. “Backing out of a World Cup for what? They are playing in Sri Lanka anyway. In a World Cup, every point is important,” Ganguly said in New Delhi.
India began their title defence with a 29-run win over the United States at the Wankhede Stadium. Batting first, India posted 161 for 9, with captain Suryakumar Yadav scoring an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls. The USA were restricted to 132 for 8, with Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh among the wickets.
India will look to consolidate their position in the group when they face Namibia in Delhi on Thursday.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
