The announcement by the Pakistan government that the national cricket team will boycott its match against India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup has sent shockwaves through the cricketing world.
The International Cricket Council was quick to issue a statement warning Pakistan of “consequences” for the decision without specifying what kind of action the governing body might take. Pundits have speculated that it could be anything ranging from financial implications to the suspension of the PCB from the ICC.
However, one must take such things with a grain of salt. Pakistan’s decision to boycott the game has come after more than a decade’s worth of attempts by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to isolate Pakistan on the world stage. It began first by the cancellation of bilateral cricketing relations between the two neighbours and escalated with the decision to disallow Pakistani players from participating in the Indian Premier League — by far the most lucrative cricket league in the world. While Pakistani players participated in the initial seasons of the IPL, the decision to involve athletes in political and diplomatic tiffs by rendering them “suspicious” as if they are some sort of security threat set the tone for the past decade and a half.
In recent years, India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan to play the ICC Champions Trophy has laid the foundation for the current crisis. India demanded that they be given a separate venue because of security concerns but stopped short of boycotting the entire tournament since broadcasters rely heavily on the big ticket India vs Pakistan game. The match is important enough that when Pakistan declared it would also not travel to India for the upcoming world cup, the ICC scrambled to arrange an alternative venue so the all important money-minting game could still be played.
However, the same courtesy was clearly not available to a smaller board like Bangladesh, which raised legitimate security concerns after one of their players was turned away from the IPL after complaints from far-right Hindutwa politicians in a state assembly to send back the Muslim player. Pakistan came to Bangladesh’s support, and they have backed that support by refusing to play against India.
For years, India has isolated Pakistan while still insisting on getting the benefits of playing Pakistan. This is the first time Pakistan has retaliated by hitting them where it hurts — broadcasting money. Another faction that will not be happy from this are the gamblers and bookies that also see a lot of business from Indo-Pak games. While the ICC will send their warnings, the truth of the matter is that Pakistan’s refusal will damage the reputation of cricket as a sport and its credibility with investors, broadcasters and advertisers that can no longer rely on the sure shot cash from an India-Pakistan clash.
The decision has hit the bottom line of the ICC and the BCCI. Pakistan cricket has over the years, unlike other boards, adapted to surviving in the cricket ecosystem without India. That means our board will be alright even without these one off matches that are very important to the ICC’s revenue. Only two possibilities remain. Either the decision goes forth and the backlash becomes clear after the tournament, or the ICC negotiates with the PCB. It will be very important now for the PCB to hold its nerve and wait for the ICC to blink first so they can go into any negotiations with the upper hand.
