Watch: Gautam Gambhir’s reaction when asked about Pakistan boycotting IND vs PAK match in T20 World Cup
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday brushed aside repeated questions from the media about Pakistan’s reported decision to skip their marquee T20 World Cup clash against India. Although the Pakistan government has permitted their national team to take part in the tournament, it has reportedly withheld clearance for the bilateral match against the arch-rivals.
In a widely circulated video, Gambhir was seen heading to Mumbai airport, where he was surrounded by enthusiastic paparazzi and reporters. He politely thanked them for their greetings and good wishes but firmly declined to comment on the Pakistan boycott reports before walking into the terminal.
The development has once again brought the long-standing India-Pakistan cricket rivalry into the spotlight, with fans and experts awaiting official confirmation from the ICC and the respective cricket boards on whether the high-voltage encounter will go ahead as scheduled.
India and Pakistan are in Group A alongside the United States of America (USA), the Netherlands, and Namibia.
While Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in the tournament opener in Colombo on February 7, co-hosts India will square off against the USA later in the day.
The Indian team was in terrific form ahead of the World Cup, winning the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 4-1. Similarly, Pakistan head into the tournament on the back of a T20I whitewash over Australia at home last week.
However, they have a terrible record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups. The two teams have played eight times, with the record standing at 7-1 in India’s favour.
In the Asia Cup last year, Pakistan were clean-swept by a clinical India in a trilogy of entertaining matches, including the final.
Throughout these matches, young Indian stars Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma bullied Pakistan bowlers with their fiery knocks, with Tilak scoring a brilliant 69* during a tense 147-run chase in the final, showing his big-match temperament.
India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.
( With IANS Inputs )
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