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New Delhi, 10 February. As soon as the proposed match between India and Pakistan under the ICC T20 World Cup T20 was confirmed after much drama and drama in Colombo, the air fares have started skyrocketing and the fares for flights from New Delhi to Colombo have almost doubled in no time.

The match is to be held on 15th February at 7 pm

As per the pre-determined schedule, the India-Pakistan match is to start on February 15 at 7 pm in the Sri Lankan capital. Now if you want to go to Colombo on Saturday (14 February) or Sunday (15 February) then you will have to pay a little more money.

Air India flight fare more than one lakh rupees

According to media reports, the fare of an Air India flight has exceeded Rs 1 lakh. The flight from Delhi to Colombo takes approximately four hours. On Tuesday, February 10, the fare had doubled.

• Delhi to Colombo

Air India’s nonstop flight fares on Friday ranged between ₹63,030 and ₹81,032. The SriLankan Airlines fare was ₹32,746. On Saturday, Air India nonstop flight fares ranged between ₹90,031 and ₹109,340. The SriLankan Airlines fare was ₹145,220.

On match day on Sunday, Air India’s nonstop flight fare was ₹109,340 and SriLankan Airlines’ fare was ₹65,915. SriLankan Airlines fares are low because by the time the flight reaches Colombo and the passengers leave the airport, the match will be over.

• Mumbai to Colombo

The flight from Mumbai to Colombo takes two and a half to three and a quarter hours. On Friday, IndiGo’s nonstop flight fares are ₹22,943, Air India’s ₹28,035 and SriLankan Airlines’ ₹66,123. On Saturday, Indigo fares range from ₹47,818, SriLankan Airlines fares from ₹56,525 to ₹63,377 and Air India fares from ₹80,031. Air India flight fare on Sunday is ₹28,035, Indigo fare is ₹32,803 and SriLankan Airlines fare is ₹66,123.

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry in crisis

The fact worth noting is that Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is currently facing a crisis. According to a report by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, despite the increasing number of tourists, there has been a decline in revenue. The report said that in January 2026, the revenue from tourists visiting Sri Lanka will decline by about 5.6% year-on-year.

Sri Lanka earned $400.7 million from tourism in January 2025. This revenue declined to $378.3 million in January 2026. Sri Lanka hopes that the India-Pakistan match will bring a large number of visitors to Sri Lanka and will help in strengthening the country’s economy.

With the permission of PM Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan team is ready to play the match against India.

It is noteworthy that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the decision of Pakistani team to enter the match against India through the official social media account, in which the ‘request of friendly countries’ like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and UAE and the results of talks with many countries were mentioned. Sharif’s post read, ‘In view of the results obtained in the talks between several countries and the requests of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field for its scheduled match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on February 15, 2026.’

The drama started after Bangladesh was thrown out of the tournament

Recall that Bangladesh had refused to play its matches in India citing security reasons and had requested the ICC to shift its matches to co-host Sri Lanka. But the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request citing that everything was finalized and instead included Scotland in the tournament at the last moment.

After this, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threw a different dice and refused to play the match against India in support of Bangladesh to take the ICC to Ardab. At present, after the instructions of ICC, the Pakistani government took a U-turn and gave permission to its team to play the match against India.