{"id":87015,"date":"2026-02-11T01:11:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T05:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=87015"},"modified":"2026-02-12T00:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T04:57:08","slug":"87015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=87015","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan Agrees to Play T-20 World Cup Match With India in Colombo After President Anura Kumara Dissanayake Speaks to Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif in 30 Minute Telephone Call\u201d\u201dIt\u2019s Cricket Diplomacy\u2019Says Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

A telephone call between Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday (February 9, 2026) night appears to have been the game-changer in convincing Pakistan to play India in the scheduled T20 World Cup match in Colombo.<\/p>\n

Deciding to play peacemaker, Sri Lanka\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reached out to the Pakistani authorities on Sunday (February 8) through the two high commissions in Colombo and Islamabad. <\/p>\n

After swift discussions, a call between President Dissanayake and PM Sharif was scheduled Monday night. \u201cThe telephone call between the President and Prime Minister lasted nearly 30 minutes,\u201d Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told The Hindu Tuesday morning, adding: \u201cit\u2019s cricket diplomacy!\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While Sri Lanka initiated a call between the leaders, Bangladesh, too, had made formal requests to the Pakistan Cricket Board, according to a post by the Government of Pakistan on social media platform \u2018X\u2019. \u201cThe Government of Pakistan has reviewed the formal requests extended to the PCB by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, as well as the supporting communications from Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and other member nations. These correspondences sought Pakistan\u2019s leadership in securing a viable solution to recent challenges,\u201d the post said. <\/p>\n

It referred to a \u201cwarm and friendly conversation\u201d between President Dissanayake and PM Sharif, in which they \u201crecalled that Pakistan and Sri Lanka had always stood shoulder to shoulder, especially during challenging times.\u201d The Sri Lankan President requested the Prime Minister to accord serious consideration to amicably resolve the impasse, it said.<\/p>\n

President Dissanayake wrote on social media platform \u2018X\u2019 (Twitter) around midnight, \u201cDelighted that the eagerly awaited India and Pakistan match at the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup in Colombo will proceed as planned. As co-host of the tournament, Sri Lanka thanks the ICC and all concerned for their efforts. Sri Lanka hasn\u2019t forgotten the solidarity shown by both India and Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup, when they played in Colombo at a time when others refrained due to security concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement late Monday (February 9) night confirming the development. \u201cThe dialogue between ICC and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took place as part of a broader engagement, with both parties recognising the need for constructive dealings and being united, committed and purposeful in their aspirations to serve the best interests of the game with integrity, neutrality and cooperation,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Courtesy: The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan A telephone call between Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday (February 9, 2026) night appears to have been the game-changer in convincing Pakistan to play India in the scheduled T20 World Cup match in Colombo. Deciding to play peacemaker, Sri Lanka\u2019s Ministry of Foreign …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Pakistan Agrees to Play T-20 World Cup Match With India in Colombo After President Anura Kumara Dissanayake Speaks to Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif in 30 Minute Telephone Call\u201d\u201dIt\u2019s Cricket Diplomacy\u2019Says Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87015"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87023,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87015\/revisions\/87023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}