New Delhi, Feb 10 (NationPress) Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate expressed his relief regarding the confirmation of the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match scheduled for Colombo this Sunday. He shared that the team is pleased to see the event restored and is committed to avoiding any political discussions surrounding it.

On Monday night, the uncertainty regarding the T20 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan was alleviated when Pakistan officially announced they would participate at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, ending weeks of speculation over a potential boycott.

The doubt surrounding this significant match arose after Pakistan initially indicated they would not compete in solidarity with Bangladesh, who had withdrawn from the tournament after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the IPL 2026 squad of Kolkata Knight Riders by the BCCI.

Bangladesh's decision not to travel to India ultimately resulted in their forfeiture of a position in the tournament. Although Pakistan had signaled their intent to protest, negotiations involving officials from Sri Lanka, UAE, Bangladesh, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) led to the decision for the team to participate in this marquee match.

“It’s fantastic that the game is back on. We didn’t alter our preparation as we believed something would happen. This doesn’t change much for us in terms of how we approach our tasks,” ten Doeschate mentioned to reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.

He also emphasized the Indian team's desire to steer clear of any political distractions related to the upcoming India-Pakistan match, focusing solely on the sport. “We accepted this as the status quo and assumed we would play until we were informed otherwise,” he noted.

“We aim to avoid all the political discussions I’ve previously mentioned regarding the sentiments between the two nations. Our priority is to concentrate on the cricket aspect, especially considering the challenge of playing in Colombo, where Pakistan has been for the past two weeks. We are determined to deliver our best performance in this fixture next week.”

When asked about the status of families being prohibited from traveling with the team during the World Cup, ten Doeschate admitted he had no updates. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I’m trying to gather information, but I’m not sure if the BCCI’s policies apply to this event yet.”

“We’ve been traveling for a couple of weeks now due to the New Zealand series, but this hasn’t been an issue from my perspective, and this is the first I’m hearing about it. I apologize for not being able to provide more clarity,” he concluded.