Inside India and Pakistan’s explosive cricket rivalry
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 13 February 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The biggest cricket match of the Men’s T20 World Cup almost didn’t happen. Pakistan said it would not play India, sending shockwaves through the sport and triggering urgent talks between officials and governments. After days of tense negotiations, the standoff ended and the rivals are set to meet on Sunday. What changed, and what will it mean when they take the field?
In this episode:
- Hafsa Adil (@hafsa_adil), Sports Journalist at Al Jazeera
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz and Sarí el-Khalili, with Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Chloe K. Li, Maya Hamadeh, Tuleen Barakat, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, India versus Pakistan is back on after a boycott threat shook the T20 World Cup. |
| 0:18.0 | We're just holding our breath to see if they shake hands, |
| 0:22.4 | if the sportsman's spirit returns in any form or shape during this World Cup game. |
| 0:29.1 | The standoff sent shockwaves through global cricket |
| 0:31.8 | and forced last-minute negotiations. |
| 0:34.7 | So what happened? |
| 0:38.4 | I'm Malika Bilan, and this is the take. |
| 0:48.9 | Quick question. Will you be watching the India-Pakistan cricket match on Sunday? |
| 0:53.9 | And should politics have an influence over sport? |
| 0:57.2 | Let us know in the comments. |
| 0:59.1 | If you're listening on your podcast app, leave us a review. |
| 1:02.3 | Tell us where you're listening from and give us a five-star rating. |
| 1:05.5 | It helps more than you know. |
| 1:09.8 | Hi, I'm Hafsa Adil. I'm a sports journalist at Al Jazeera Digital in Doha. I cover more sports, |
| 1:18.1 | but I have a special interest in cricket. Well, your special interest is our gain. Hafsa, |
| 1:25.2 | welcome to the take. It is really good to have you here. We are just days away |
| 1:29.9 | from what is arguably the biggest match of the T20 cricket World Cup, a face-off between |
| 1:37.1 | historic rivals, Pakistan and India, on Sunday in Sri Lanka. But it is a match that almost wasn't going to happen |
| 1:47.6 | thanks to a crisis that started with the dismissal of one player from Bangladesh. |
| 1:54.3 | Bangladesh's fast bowler, Mustafa Zuhrahman, has been dropped by the Kolkata night riders, |
| 2:00.7 | and that means he's not going to be featuring in the upcoming season of IPL. |
... |
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