India-Pakistan T20 World Cup game back on table as PCB-ICC talks resume

2 min readUpdated: Feb 7, 2026 05:57 PM IST
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) to initiate dialogue over their boycott of the February 15 game against India. This comes after the international cricket body’s detailed communication to PCB after it had invoked the Force Majeure clause to justify their last-minute withdrawal from the India game because of their government’s instruction.
This sudden change of tone on the opening day of the World T20 tournament opens the window for the cricket’s high-stake clash between the arch-rivals at Colombo.
Sources close to the discussion say that once the ICC conveyed to the PCB the potential financial claims they would suffer because of Force Majeure the turnaround came about.
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“The ICC will now engage in a structured manner to solve the problem, there would be a dialogue not confrontation,” an official said.
The Force Majeure clause that PCB had raised refers to unforeseeable circumstances that can prevent a contract from being fulfilled. While pressing the clause with the ICC, the Pakistan board had also attached their government’s social media post on February 1 that instructed them to boycott the India game.
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After the Pakistan government’s unprecedented intervention on Sunday, the ICC released a statement reminding the PCB of the potential consequences. While the world body didn’t specify sanctions, there has been talk that the Pakistan board might end up facing a hefty fine since their action would result in the broadcaster suffering a big loss in the high-value game. The ICC can also punish the PCB with a temporary ban on bilateral series, leading to international isolation.
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