President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held timely and lengthy discussions with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a bid to persuade the Pakistan Cricket Team to take the field against India during the 2026 ICC World Cup game scheduled to be played in Colombo on February 15, Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated.

The Pakistan Cricket Board recently announced that it will boycott the match against India to be played in Colombo in protest of the removal of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup.

Following several rounds of discussions and deliberations involving the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other stakeholders, the Pakistan government last evening (09) announced that it has instructed the Pakistan team to play against India as scheduled in Colombo.

Commenting on the development during the weekly Cabinet media briefing held at the Department of Government Information today, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa stated that the Sri Lankan government made several interventions regarding the India-Pakistan World Cup game which will be beneficial for Sri Lanka on numerous ways if held in Colombo as scheduled.

The Minister said President Dissanayake held discussions with the Pakistan Prime Minister to persuade him and claimed that the President’s efforts were acknowledged in a communique issued by the Pakistan government in announcing its decision to play the game against India.

Minister Jayatissa added that the present government will not hesitate to intervene if it is able to resolve any issues among regional powers, be it related to cricket or diplomacy.

The Cabinet Spokesman also noted that the government will take full responsibility to ensure all security plans are in place to hold the keenly contested India-Pakistan encounter on February 15.