Assistant Coach Ryan ten Doeschate Weighs In On Upcoming Clash In Colombo As Pakistan Backtracks On Playing India

On February 10, 2026, the Government of Pakistan reversed their decision to boycott the match against India, scheduled on February 15 in Colombo. Earlier this month, the Government of Pakistan announced that their cricket team would participate in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup; however, they would not take the field against India.

This decision from Pakistan came after Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup after the former refused to travel to India for their matches, citing safety concerns. PCB then threatened to boycott the whole tournament; however, they had announced that they would not play against India as per their Government's instructions.

However, they had to make a complete U-turn after being pressured by multiple associate members of the ICC, including the Sri Lanka and the Emirates Cricket Board. Following the green light of the India-Pakistan match, the assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, in a pre-match conference, weighed in on their upcoming clash.

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Ryan ten Doeschate Reacts To Pakistan Making A U-Turn On Playing India

In the pre-match press conference assistant coach was asked about his side's thoughts on Pakistan's backtracking. Doeschate responded that the dressing is fully focused and that they had always expected the match to take place and were preparing accordingly.

ten Doeschate shared, "We treated it as status quo until told otherwise. We assumed we would play. We try to stay clear of politics and focus purely on cricket. I think it’s really important for us just to focus on the cricket side of things, it’s going to be a challenge going to Colombo where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks, and we’re fully focused on just bringing our best game to that fixture next week."

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India Will Face Namibia Next

The Men in Blue will take on Namibia in the group stage match on February 12, 2026, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Following the match, India will travel to Colombo for their third group stage match.