Colombo, February 10 Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has thanked Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for instructing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to end its boycott of the T20 World Cup match against India scheduled for February 15.
The India-Pakistan match will proceed as planned after Pakistan's government decided to withdraw its call for a boycott following persuasion from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, ending a deadlock that had cast a shadow on the ongoing tournament.
"I am delighted that the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match at the ongoing T20 cricket World Cup in Colombo will proceed," Dissanayake said on the X platform.
Dissanayake had called Sharif on Monday night to persuade him to play the game following a letter from the Sri Lanka Cricket to the PCB requesting a change in its decision.
The Pakistan PM's office acknowledged Dissanayake's call in a government release, which effectively ended the match boycott by his country.
Pakistan had earlier stated that they would not play the India match, which was seen as a political protest linked to Bangladesh's removal from the tournament after the world body declined its request to shift matches from India to Sri Lanka on security grounds.
