Politics behind Pakistan’s boycott of India T20 World Cup game, experts say

Pakistan’s determination to boycott their T20 World Cup crippled against India has been termed a governmental move, with cricketers and politicians successful some countries and astir the satellite urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resoluteness the dispute.

The Pakistani authorities connected Sunday issued a connection saying its men’s cricket squad volition enactment successful the planetary tourney but volition not instrumentality the tract successful the lucifer against archrivals India connected February 15.

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In a swift response, the ICC was captious of Pakistan’s determination of “selective participation” and asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to see the “significant and semipermanent implications” of its decision.

A decades-old governmental rift betwixt the 2 nuclear-armed countries is blamed for their frosty sporting ties.

Pakistan was carved retired of India successful 1947, resulting successful a bloody part of the subcontinent by the assemblage British. Over the past 78 years, the nations person fought 4 wars, exchanged countless skirmishes and remained astatine likelihood chiefly implicit the disputed Kashmir portion that some assertion successful entirety but administer parts of.

The South Asian archrivals returned from the brink of an all-out warfare successful May, erstwhile some countries clashed astatine their shared borderline earlier an internationally-brokered ceasefire.

An authoritative of the Board of Control for Cricket successful India (BCCI) has supported the ICC’s connection asking Pakistan to reconsider the move.

“The ICC has issued a large statement, they person spoken astir sportsmanship,” BCCI’s Vice President Rajeev Shukla told the ANI quality bureau successful India.

“We wholly hold with the ICC. BCCI won’t marque immoderate comments connected it until we talk with the ICC.”

However, erstwhile cricketers and politicians person called upon the ICC to enactment arsenic a mediator betwixt some countries’ cricket boards.

“Cricket tin unfastened doors erstwhile authorities closes them,” erstwhile Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi wrote connected X.

He urged the ICC to “lead and beryllium done decisions, not statements, that it is impartial, autarkic and just to each member.”

‘Sport has been politicised’

Prominent Indian person Shashi Tharoor was captious of the politicisation of cricket, and slammed the BCCI’s determination to expel Bangladeshi accelerated bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League successful January.

“It is beauteous disgraceful that athletics has been politicised successful this mode connected some sides,” helium told reporters successful New Delhi.

“I don’t deliberation that Mustafizur should person been denied his declaration to play successful Kolkata. It was astir unfortunate. [An] intrusion of politics. I deliberation the Bangladeshi absorption was an overreaction, but it is besides a reflection of the same, and Pakistan is trying to amusement its solidarity with Bangladesh. ”

Tharoor, who is simply a subordinate of India’s main absorption party, said the concern was “spiralling retired of control”.

“Sports, particularly a athletics similar cricket which means truthful overmuch to each the people, should beryllium a means of bringing america unneurotic astatine slightest connected the playing field, alternatively than allowing this to spell connected similar this,” helium said.

The 69-year-old, who is besides an writer of respective books connected past and politics, called connected the ICC to assistance mend the ties.

“This is present a wake-up telephone for each acrophobic to interaction each different connected an exigency basis. The ICC could beryllium the level for it. Just say, ‘Let’s telephone disconnected this nonsense’. You can’t spell connected similar this forever.”

Pakistan’s decision, which came six days earlier the commencement of the World Cup, has formed a shadiness connected the marquee fixture of the radical stage.

India and Pakistan were scheduled to play successful Colombo connected February 15 successful a crippled that attracts millions of viewers from crossed the satellite and is seen arsenic a large revenue-generating fixture for the tournament’s organisers and sponsors.

Outspoken erstwhile Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif said Pakistan could look sanctions from the ICC, but specified a determination would beryllium hypocritical arsenic teams person boycotted games astatine erstwhile World Cups.

“Where was ICC erstwhile Australia and West Indies forfeited their matches successful 1996; England refusing to question to Harare and New Zealand to Nairobi successful 2003,” helium said connected X.

Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals (ODIs), feared that Pakistan whitethorn beryllium sanctioned by the ICC.

“They [Pakistan] don’t look to attraction astir it,” helium said.

‘Would Pakistan garbage to play the final?’

Should Pakistan support their connection and boycott the radical game, they volition forfeit 2 points, which could person an interaction connected their standings successful Group A.

Pakistan and India could conscionable again successful the tournament, successful the last connected March 8, but with the aggregate stages of advancement betwixt the radical crippled and the final, it is unclear however that lucifer would cookware out.

Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen questioned whether Pakistan would boycott the tourney decider arsenic well.

“Would Pakistan garbage to play the World Cup final?” helium asked.

Cricketers from crossed the borderline condemned Pakistan’s boycott of the game.

“This isn’t astir guts astatine all, this is astir foolishness,” Madan Lal, a erstwhile Test cricketer and coach, told Indian media.

“Because Pakistan wants to amusement India down, that’s wherefore they’re taking each these decisions. That’s the crushed their maturation isn’t happening, either. If you support looking astatine others, what volition you bash for your ain growth?”

Indian cricket writer and commentator Harsha Bhogle said the boycott could woody a fiscal stroke to Pakistan cricket.

“If determination is an inevitable simplification successful the ICC’s gross caused by Pakistan’s forfeit and aboriginal uncertainty, the slightest affected countries, fixed different beardown sources of revenue, volition beryllium India, Australia and England,” helium said successful a societal media post.

“The astir affected volition beryllium those wholly reliant connected revenues from the ICC; not conscionable the smaller and subordinate nations but besides the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and…… Pakistan!”

Pakistan volition unfastened their T20 World Cup run connected the opening day, February 7, against the Netherlands successful Colombo.

The 2009 champions volition play each their games, including immoderate Super 8 fixtures and knockouts, successful Sri Lanka.

This follows an ICC-brokered statement betwixt the PCB and the BCCI successful December 2024 that allows some teams to play their games astatine a neutral venue erstwhile the neighbour hosts an ICC event.

Pakistan’s remaining Group A fixtures are against the United States connected February 10 and against Namibia connected February 18.