Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 15 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey on Sunday criticised the scheduling of the India-Pakistan match in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, questioning the rationale behind sporting ties amid political tensions.
"We have great respect for the sport, but on one side, the Prime Minister says that blood and water cannot flow together," Dubey told ANI.
" We have great respect for the sport, but on one side, the PM says that blood and water cannot flow together. On the other side, we see that sometimes we have to play matches with Bangladesh, sometimes with Pakistan, why? Pakistan's defeat is certain. Our team is so strong that no one can beat them, but a defeated, useless team first threatens us that they won't play the match because they want to show friendship with Bangladesh, and on the other hand, they play the match because the PCB will get money. This is not sport, it's business", he said.
His remarks come amid heightened political discourse surrounding sporting engagements between India and Pakistan during multilateral tournaments.
The high-voltage India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match is scheduled to take place today, at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
India's captain Suryakumar Yadav avoided commenting on the Asia Cup handshake controversy, saying "wait 24 hours."
Cricket fans gathered outside the Colombo Stadium expressed their excitement for the much-awaited match today in which India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, and Pakistan, led by Salman Ali Agha, will face each other in their third group-stage match at the marquee tournament.
Fans of both teams flocked to the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo even hours before the match.
An Indian fan, Kuldeep Singh, while speaking to ANI, said that he travelled from India out of excitement and is confident India will win, as they have in the past."The excitement has pulled me to come here all the way from India. We have full belief that India will win, like they always have in the past," he said.
Another Indian fan, Mohammad Afsar, said there is great excitement for the India vs Pakistan match, with supporters coming to cheer the team, noting India's strong recent record and expressing eagerness to watch Indian opener Abhishek Sharma play."There's a lot of excitement for the match. We have come here to support our team. If you look at the records from the last 10-15 years, we have won. We are excited to see Abhishek Sharma," he said.
A Pakistani fan, on the other hand, warned that Pakistan will dominate India, citing historical head-to-head records and claiming India's overconfidence could cause their downfall."Pakistan fans will wash you away like a cyclone. Take a look at the complete history of India-Pakistan matches, and you will see who has dominated more. India's overconfidence will lead to its downfall," he said.
Both India and Pakistan have played two matches each in the tournament so far. Both have registered victories in those games. While India will enter the contest on the back of wins against the United States of America and Namibia, Pakistan has defeated the Netherlands and the USA.
While the Suryakumar Yadav-led India are placed on top of Group A standings with four points and the Net Run Rate (NRR) of +3.050, Pakistan are placed second with four points, too, and an NRR of +0.932.
Meanwhile, Intense rainfall was reported in Colombo earlier today, but conditions are expected to remain dry for the evening start time, though 100% cloud cover is anticipated.
India has a dominant historical record against Pakistan in this format, winning 13 out of 16 total T20I encounters, including a 7-1 lead in T20 World Cup matches.