Pakistan to not travel to India for 2026 T20 World Cup, will play their games in Sri Lanka: Report

Pakistan cricket team will not travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Men in Green will play their games in Sri Lanka, who are the co-hosts for the mega event. This development comes after the International Cricket Council (ICC) reportedly accepted the hybrid model for the 2025 Champions Trophy (CT 2025) on Friday (Dec 13). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) denied sending Team India to travel to Pakistan, i.e. the original hosts, for the marquee tournament. Hence, the Rohit Sharma-led team will play their games in Dubai. Following this, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have also been allowed to not travel to India for the next edition of the T20 WC.

HERE ARE SOME KEY DEVELOPMENTS POST THE ICC-PCB-BCCI meeting:

– ICC gave the green signal to the Champions Trophy to be held in a hybrid model, after an agreement with PCB and BCCI.
– CT 2025 games will be held across three venues in Pakistan with India games in Dubai.
– BCCI and PCB have agreed in principle that Pakistan will not travel to India for the India-Pakistan match in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Thus, the high-voltage clash will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka (the co-hosts).

The PCB has also been given the hosting rights for the ICC Women's tournament after 2027. It will mark the first time for the Asian giants to host a marquee event in women's cricket.

All this after a lengthy saga between ICC, PCB and BCCI regarding the CT 2025 future, which will be held in February-March 2025. While the hybrid model was expected to be the only way out, it has also solved the issue for the next big ICC event in men's cricket, i.e. the T20 World Cup in 2026.

However, there is no word regarding PCB sending their team to India for the 2025 ICC Women's ODI World Cup. A final call is likely to be out in a few months.