T20 World Cup: Amid uncertainty, ICC yet to begin India-Pak ticket sales
The Pakistan Government has asked its national team to forfeit the match against India, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly not officially confirmed its decision to the ICC
With the Pakistan team already in Colombo and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirming his team’s flight is already booked for the February 15 clash in Sri Lanka, the ICC is yet to announce the sale of tickets for this T20 World Cup tie between the two nations. Amid the uncertainty, the match is still listed as scheduled at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
Interestingly, the ICC has opened sale of tickets for every match slated at the same venue, even for the Super8 matches, barring the February 15 India-Pakistan match. The website maintains that the sale of tickets will “commence soon”. The venue has been picked to host five league games and three Super8 matches. The Pakistan Government has asked its national team to forfeit the match against India, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly not officially confirmed its decision to the ICC, which has forced the organisers to hold back the sale of tickets. The same venue will host the first semifinal and the final if Pakistan qualify, replacing Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
“Since there’s no official communication from the PCB… the ICC has delayed the sale of tickets. Amid the uncertainty, the ICC will not open the tickets and face damages. The body will be making sure about the match’s fate before opening the sale. In any case, if this match happens, the tickets will be sold in a few hours,” said a top source monitoring the development closely.
During the captains’ interaction in Colombo today, Pakistan captain Salman Agha said: “Playing the game against India is not in our control. It’s a government decision, and we respect that. Whatever they are going to say, we do that.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “We have taken a very clear stand on the T20 World Cup that we won’t play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field.”
Co-hosts Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in a letter urged PCB to reconsider the decision to boycott the contest, saying it could lead to heavy losses to all stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the BCCI announced the commencement of the third stage (Phase 3) of ticket sales, after launching Phase 1 on December 11, 2025, and Phase 2 on January 14. The tickets for India’s league games against USA and Netherlands have been opened so far.
