BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla's message to ICC Chairman Jay Shah after Pakistan's boycott withdrawal: 'Ultimately, cricket is most...'

Late on Monday, the Pakistani government withdrew its decision to boycott the India match in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The U-turn came eight days after the earlier announcement of blackballing the match. The retraction marked an end to the exhaustive standoff between PCB and ICC, paving the way for the India vs Pakistan match to take place on the scheduled date, i.e., February 15, 2026.

BCCI thanks ICC for resolving Pakistan's boycott standoff

The decision sat well with the BCCI, prompting the vice-president of the body, Rajeev Shukla, to thank ICC chairman Jay Shah for finding the resolution to the impasse.

“I would like to thank the ICC chairman (Jay Shah) and its office-bearers on behalf of the BCCI for finding a very good solution. After discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and after listening to all sides, this decision has been taken,” Shukla told reporters.

Shukla emphasised that the decision is favourable for the game and labelled it as a big achievement for the governing council. Shukla gave props to the ICC for keeping in consideration the interest of the Bangladesh Cricket Board as well, despite their refusal to play the tournament in India, which compelled the ICC to take the harsh step of replacing Bangladesh with Scotland.

“This decision is very important for cricket. Cricket must go and the World Cup will now be a big success. This is a big achievement as far as ICC is concerned. Even the Bangladesh Cricket Board has praised the ICC, so it has listened to all sides and arrived at the decision after taking into consideration the interests of everyone.

“Ultimately, cricket is most important for everyone; international cricket is important for everyone,” the veteran administrator added.

India and Pakistan open campaign on a positive note

Both India and Pakistan have started their respective campaigns with nervy victories. India had a relatively comfortable win over the USA by 29 runs. Pakistan, on the other hand, suffered a massive scare; as if it weren't for the blazing knock of Faheem Ashraf (29 off 11) in the end, the Netherlands would have won the match.

Pakistan would next take on the USA, the team that famously defeated them in the super over in the previous edition of the World Cup. They would look to get their revenge on the USA for the loss they inflicted last time. However, considering the intent the USA showed in the match against India, it could prove to be a daunting task again for Pakistan. The Pakistan vs USA match will take place on Tuesday.

As for India, they will square off against Namibia next in the group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, February 12, 2026.