Govt, authorities take decisions accordingly: BJP as India-Pakistan cricket teams set to clash again

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) As India and Pakistan are set to face each other once again on the world stage, with their highly anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 match confirmed for February 15, BJP leader Nitin Nabin on Wednesday said that sports should remain separate from politics and that the government and concerned bodies will take decisions based on policy and circumstances.

Speaking to IANS, Nitin Nabin said, “Sports is a separate domain. The government and concerned authorities examine the situation and take decisions accordingly. Along with sports, public sentiment is also understood and taken into consideration.”

JD(U) National Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad also reacted, stating, “In the Asia Cup too, both countries played against each other. This should be viewed in the spirit of sports and not connected to politics. Such events reflect a healthy mindset.”

JD(U) MLC Gulam Gaush added, “Cricket is fine, but whenever a match takes place, it feels like war. That should not happen. Efforts must be made to improve relations.”

Meanwhile, defending champions India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15, 2026 after opening their campaign in the group stage against minnows United States of America at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 7, 2026.

India are in Group A with the Netherlands and Namibia as the other teams in the group.

No country has ever defended their title in the T20 World Cup so far and hosts India will be hoping to become the first country to do so. In their remaining group stage fixtures, India will take on Namibia on February 12 in New Delhi and will round off the proceedings against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18, 2026.

This will be the biggest T20 World Cup in the history of the game so far, as for the first time, 20 teams will be in the fray. The 20 teams will play 55 matches in all across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka from February 7, 2026:, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta announced in Mumbai on Tuesday as the ICC revealed the full schedule of the tournament in the presence of ICC Chair Jay Shah, two-time T20 WC winner Rohit Sharma, India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, newly crowned Women’s ODI World Cup winner Harmanpreet Kaur and cricket administrators from India and Sri Lanka.

Matches will be played at eight venues — the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In Sri Lanka, matches will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium, the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, and the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy.

–IANS

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