2026 T20 World Cup: India, Pakistan in same group, to play each other on Feb 15 in Colombo
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Mumbai (PTI): Traditional rivals India and Pakistan have been clubbed in Group A for the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup and will meet in Colombo on February 15, as the ICC unveiled the schedule of the showpiece here on Tuesday.
The Indian government has barred all bilateral sporting engagements with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year, but has permitted contests between the two nations in multinational events.
With the BCCI and PCB agreeing to face each other only at neutral venues until the FTP is redrawn in 2027, Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, including the fixture against India at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Despite India-Pakistan contests being lopsided in recent years, the rivalry continues to draw massive global interest.
The recently concluded T20-format Asia Cup, seen as a precursor to next year's World Cup, featured three Indo-Pak clashes including the final, all scheduled on Sundays to maximise viewership.
Eight venues finalised
Eight venues, five in India and three in Sri Lanka, will host the 55 matches.
The 20-team tournament, which includes debutants Italy, will be divided into four groups of five with eight teams progressing to the Super Eight stage. Four teams will then make the semifinals, slated to be held in Kolkata or Colombo and Mumbai.
The final will take place in either Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on Pakistan’s qualification.
Reigning champions India begin their title defence against USA at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumabi on February 7, followed by a match against Namibia in Delhi on February 12.
They then travel to Colombo for the high-profile clash against Pakistan before finishing the league phase against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.
"The group (A) looks quite decent. It's a T20 format, you never know which team has a good day on a given day. It's all about two batters coming out and two bowlers having a good day," said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
"(We are) playing in good venues… Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad. And then you talk about the game (against Pakistan) on the 15th, I think we played them recently during the Asia Cup and we had a good time. Everything was completely focused on cricket, nothing else as you must have seen.”
"I'm sure it will be a good game. Boys are always excited to have an India-Pak game,” he added.
The tournament will feature 55 matches. ICC chairman Jay Shah made the announcement while unveiling the tournament's schedule.
Group B features Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe an Oman while Group C will have England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal and Italy. Group D comprises New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada and UAE.
Rohit is tournament ambassador
Rohit Sharma, who led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, has been named the tournament ambassador. One of India’s most prolific T20I batters, Rohit finished his career in the format with 4,231 runs at an average of 32.01 and a strike-rate of 140.89.
Having retired from T20Is after India’s triumph in the Americas, Rohit said he continues to stay in touch with the national players.
"I keep meeting all these guys; I’m still playing. I’m going to Ranchi (for the ODIs against South Africa) and will meet some of them there. There’s always conversation happening — I like to talk, discuss, understand their mindset," he said.
"I've always been someone who gives advice when required or just hears them out. But these guys have been on a great run. I don’t think much needs to change. Their final prep will be around the New Zealand series when they should start firming up their 15," he said.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
