Pakistan briefly refused to play India at the Cricket World Cup. Now the high-stakes match is back on.<\/p>\n
The biggest cricket match of the Men\u2019s T20 World Cup almost didn\u2019t 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?<\/p>\n
In this episode:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hafsa Adil (@hafsa_adil<\/a>), Sports Journalist at Al Jazeera<\/p>\n Episode credits:<\/p>\n This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz and Sar\u00ed 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take\u2019s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera\u2019s head of audio.\u00a0<\/p>\n Connect with us:<\/p>\n @AJEPodcasts on X<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Published On 13 Feb 202613 Feb 2026<\/p>\n Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n share2<\/p>\n