PM Narendra Modi Enters T20 World Cup Chat, Avoids Speaking On India-Pakistan

PM Narendra Modi spoke about T20 World Cup 2026 [Source: Osint613, PTI/X.com]

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which is being hosted in India and Sri Lanka, has reached its business end. Only the top-performing teams from four different groups remain, and the battles are expected to heat up from the Super 8 stage onwards.

With the competition being held in India, political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have also weighed in, expressing their interest in the event. Modi reflected on a variety of topics around the tournament, but notably refrained from making any comment on the India-Pakistan situation despite the fiasco around it for the last month.

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PM Modi speaks on T20 World Cup; Avoids India-Pakistan issue

On Sunday, February 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation with his famous radio program 'Mann ki Baat' and touched upon the ongoing tournament in India. He praised the high standards of Indian players representing different countries and spoke highly about their respective journeys.

Narendra Modi took several names from the Canadian and the USA national teams and reminded the Indian-origin players that the nation is proud of their achievements.

"I often tell everyone that the one who plays [sports] blooms. You must be watching the T20 World Cup these days, and I am sure that you must be locking in your eyes on specific players. They represent different countries, but when you hear their names, you realise that they are from India. You must be feeling happy and proud of them when it happens," Narendra Modi said.

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"Canada has a lot of India-origin stars, including captain Dilpreet Bajwa from Gurdaspur, Navneet Dhaliwal from Chandigarh, and the list of players who make India proud goes on. The USA has many Indian domestic talents like captain Monank Patel, Sarurabh Netravalkar, Harmeet Singh, etc," Narendra Modi added.

He went on to name several other Indian-born stars from Oman, UAE and other countries and termed them as the nation's pride. However, as many expected, he did not particularly go into the IND-PAK topic despite India's thumping 61-run win over the neighbours after strained relationships on and off the field in recent months.

India-Pakistan tussle on cricket field

The tensions between two nations are no longer news for cricket fans. For years, India and Pakistan haven't had any bilateral cricket relations. Additionally, after India refused to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the same was reciprocated by the arch-rivals for the ongoing T20 mega event.

Furthermore, Pakistan also threatened to boycott facing India in the group stage match, which they anyway lost by a huge margin. The captains and teams haven't shaken hands in the last 4 matches since the recent Asia Cup. Notably, India has crushed Pakistan in all these games, including the Asia Cup final.

While India continues to dominate the opposition on the field, the non-cricketing antics keep catching attention, both on and off the field. After making it to the Super 8, both teams could potentially meet once again in the semi-final or final, according to how each of their remainder of the tournament go.

India looks to defend historic title at home

Having won the first-ever edition in 2007, India had to wait for another 17 years to get their hands on the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024 under Rohit Sharma. Since the 2024 tournament, India haven't lost any of their matches in ICC tournaments, including a triumphant Champions Trophy.

So far, they have won all four of their group stage games and have three Super 8s and potentially two more fixtures left to have a chance to defend their title. In 19 years since the inception of the tournament, no home team has won the tournament or defended their title.

So, India stands a unique chance to etch their name in history by winning the third T20 World title. If both India and Pakistan make it to the final, they could be travelling to Colombo to play the big match, where PM Modi could also be potentially invited in the midst of geopolitical tensions.

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