Handshake protocol, ICC revenue and more; Pak does a volte face, India-Pak match back on track

DUBAI: Pakistan may withdraw its boycott of the Twenty20 World Cup match against India scheduled in Colombo on the 15th of this month. The marathon talks between the International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board are said to have concluded successfully. It is learnt that the interventions of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Cricket Board played a crucial role in easing tensions and Pakistan retracting their earlier stance.

Pakistan started the controversy after they unsolicitedly came to Bangladesh's support following the International Cricket Council's denial of the request to change the venue. Pakistan engaged in a verbal duel with ICC despite knowing that such a move could see them being thrown out of the tournament. After much planning, Pakistan Cricket Council President and Minister Mohsin Naqvi informed the ICC of the Pakistani Prime Minister's request to boycott the match with India. With this, the ICC informed that the consequences of boycotting the World Cup match would be severe. The Sri Lankan Board also intervened in the discussion that followed, as such a move could face huge revenue loss for the Colombo cricket stadium. The Bangladesh Board had also asked Pakistan not to boycott.

Meanwhile, the boycott threat is also being seen as Pakistan's strategy to put pressure on the ICC. It is learnt that the Pakistan board has put forward some conditions to ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja, who arrived for talks on Monday. It is learnt that apart from an increase in the ICC's revenue share, Pakistan demanded that the Indian team should be ready to shake hands in the match. It is not clear which conditions the ICC has accepted.