Pakistan’s campaign at the upcoming T20 World Cup has started under challenging circumstances, with rain adding to the team’s worries.
The Government of Pakistan has allowed the national team to participate in the tournament but has decided not to play the scheduled February 15 match against India.
This decision puts Pakistan in a tricky position early in the competition.
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According to ICC Playing Conditions Clause 16.10.7, a team that does not take the field forfeits the match.
As a result, Pakistan will lose the two points from the India fixture.
While the full 20 overs of Pakistan’s innings will still count for net run rate calculations, this will likely hurt their net run rate significantly.
India, on the other hand, will receive the match points without any impact on their net run rate.
The tournament format adds another layer of pressure.
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The 20 participating teams are divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Eight stage.
Losing points without playing means Pakistan will have very little room for error in the remaining group matches.
Pakistan is in Group A along with India, the Netherlands, the United States, and Namibia.
The team will open its campaign against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7 at 10:30 am, followed by matches against the United States on February 10 and Namibia on February 18, while the February 15 fixture against India will be forfeited.
Weather is also a concern. As we have seen in recent cricket, rain has frequently disrupted matches in Sri Lanka.
In the recent Pakistan-Sri Lanka T20I series, a match was abandoned due to rain, while Pakistan’s four games in the Women’s World Cup were also called off including the warm-up.
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Similarly, rain disrupted matches during the recent England-Sri Lanka series in Sri Lanka.
According to AccuWeather, Colombo is expected to experience thundery showers on Saturday, February 7, with temperatures reaching up to 32°C during the day and dropping to around 22°C at night.
The morning, when Pakistan’s opening match starts at 10:00 am, is expected to be partly cloudy with a low chance of rain.
Heavy showers are likely in the afternoon, with up to 8.4 mm of rain and a 90% chance of precipitation, while the evening is expected to remain mostly cloudy with only a 25% chance of rain.
If rain causes a washout, Pakistan’s chances of qualifying could take a further hit.
With the loss of points against India already confirmed, the team will likely need to win all three remaining group matches to stay in contention.
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Any additional loss of points, whether due to rain or defeat, would leave Pakistan relying on other teams’ results, a situation that has often caused trouble for the greenshirts in major tournaments.
