The Pakistan government has given the country's cricket team permission to travel to India and participate in the World Twenty20 tournament, bringing to an end weeks of speculation. Najam Sethi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board's executive committee, announced the decision on Twitter:

Pakistan had earlier said that its team will travel to India only if the Indian government provides a public assurance of safety of its players. The assurance was given to Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, when he called on Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in Delhi on Friday. Following the meeting, Basit had told the media that he will send his recommendations to Islamabad and they will take the final call. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also said that security would not be a concern. "Why only Pakistan? Whoever comes here, India provides them security. There is no reason to be worried about security here,” he said.

The Pakistani government also received assurances of safety from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Kolkata Police. Pakistan will play most of their matches in Kolkata, including the much-anticipated clash with India on March 19, which was shifted from Dharamshala on account of security concerns. Pakistani daily Dawn reported that the men's and women's teams would be travelling to India in the next 24 hours.