Pakistan’s decision to boycott their T20 World Cup game against India has been termed a political move, with cricketers and politicians in both countries and around the world urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the dispute.
The Pakistani government on Sunday issued a statement saying its men’s cricket team will participate in the global tournament but will not take the field in the match against archrivals India on February 15.
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In a swift response, the ICC was critical of Pakistan’s move of “selective participation” and asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to consider the “significant and long-term implications” of its decision.
A decades-old political rift between the two nuclear-armed countries is blamed for their frosty sporting ties.
Pakistan was carved out of India in 1947, resulting in a bloody division of the subcontinent by the colonial British. Over the past 78 years, the nations have fought four wars, exchanged countless skirmishes and remained at odds primarily over the disputed Kashmir region that both claim in entirety but administer parts of.
The South Asian archrivals returned from the brink of an all-out war in May, when both countries clashed at their shared border before an internationally-brokered ceasefire.
An official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has supported the ICC’s statement asking Pakistan to reconsider the move.
“The ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship,” BCCI’s Vice President Rajeev Shukla told the ANI news agency in India.
“We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC.”
However, former cricketers and politicians have called upon the ICC to act as a mediator between both countries’ cricket boards.
“Cricket can open doors when politics closes them,” former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi wrote on X.
He urged the ICC to “lead and prove through decisions, not statements, that it is impartial, independent and fair to every member.”
‘Sport has been politicised’
Prominent Indian politician Shashi Tharoor was critical of the politicisation of cricket, and slammed the BCCI’s decision to expel Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League in January.
“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
“I don’t think that Mustafizur should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate. [An] intrusion of politics. I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction, but it is also a reflection of the same, and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. ”
Tharoor, who is a member of India’s main opposition party, said the situation was “spiralling out of control”.
“Sports, especially a sport like cricket which means so much to all the people, should be a means of bringing us together at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to go on like this,” he said.
The 69-year-old, who is also an author of several books on history and politics, called on the ICC to help mend the ties.
“This is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis. The ICC could be the platform for it. Just say, ‘Let’s call off this nonsense’. You can’t go on like this forever.”
Pakistan’s decision, which came six days before the start of the World Cup, has cast a shadow on the marquee fixture of the group stage.
India and Pakistan were scheduled to play in Colombo on February 15 in a game that attracts millions of viewers from across the world and is seen as a major revenue-generating fixture for the tournament’s organisers and sponsors.
Outspoken former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said Pakistan could face sanctions from the ICC, but such a move would be hypocritical as teams have boycotted games at previous World Cups.
“Where was ICC when Australia and West Indies forfeited their matches in 1996; England refusing to travel to Harare and New Zealand to Nairobi in 2003,” he said on X.
Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals (ODIs), feared that Pakistan may be sanctioned by the ICC.
“They [Pakistan] don’t seem to care about it,” he said.
‘Would Pakistan refuse to play the final?’
Should Pakistan keep their word and boycott the group game, they will forfeit two points, which could have an impact on their standings in Group A.
Pakistan and India could meet again in the tournament, in the final on March 8, but with the multiple stages of progress between the group game and the final, it is unclear how that match would pan out.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen questioned whether Pakistan would boycott the tournament decider as well.
“Would Pakistan refuse to play the World Cup final?” he asked.
Cricketers from across the border condemned Pakistan’s boycott of the game.
“This isn’t about guts at all, this is about foolishness,” Madan Lal, a former Test cricketer and coach, told Indian media.
“Because Pakistan wants to show India down, that’s why they’re taking all these decisions. That’s the reason their growth isn’t happening, either. If you keep looking at others, what will you do for your own growth?”
Indian cricket writer and commentator Harsha Bhogle said the boycott could deal a financial blow to Pakistan cricket.
“If there is an inevitable reduction in the ICC’s revenue caused by Pakistan’s forfeit and future uncertainty, the least affected countries, given other strong sources of revenue, will be India, Australia and England,” he said in a social media post.
“The most affected will be those completely reliant on revenues from the ICC; not just the smaller and associate nations but also the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and…… Pakistan!”
Pakistan will open their T20 World Cup campaign on the opening day, February 7, against the Netherlands in Colombo.
The 2009 champions will play all their games, including any Super 8 fixtures and knockouts, in Sri Lanka.
This follows an ICC-brokered agreement between the PCB and the BCCI in December 2024 that allows both teams to play their games at a neutral venue when the neighbour hosts an ICC event.
Pakistan’s remaining Group A fixtures are against the United States on February 10 and against Namibia on February 18.
