India, Feb. 10 -- After one week of drama, the end of the soap opera has come about. Pakistan will indeed take the field against India on February 15 in Colombo in the Group A match of the Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after the Government of Pakistan cleared the decks and gave the necessary permission late on Monday night. On February 8, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam, and a two-member ICC delegation met at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to decide the future course of action. Once the images and visuals from the meeting were made public, it was just a matter of time before Pakistan made it official that the U-turn was coming.

However, shortly before the Government...