The irony that the Pakistan government’s statement on Sunday that they would be boycotting the match against India in the World Cup T20 on February 15 even while the Indian team were thrashing Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup match at Bulawayo was not lost on anyone. | (Credits: Twitter)
The irony that the Pakistan government’s statement on Sunday that they would be boycotting the match against India in the World Cup T20 on February 15 even while the Indian team were thrashing Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup match at Bulawayo was not lost on anyone. Following their three crushing defeats in last year’s Asia Cup T20, the impression created by all this political grandstanding is that Pakistan is desperate to avoid another humiliating defeat on the world stage. Matches have been boycotted before, both in the 1996 and 2003 World Cups. But these were always on security grounds. Pakistan has no foot to stand on in this particular instance, as the match was slated to be staged in Colombo under the hybrid model agreed upon by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the BCCI, and the ICC and used in last year’s Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. Merely making this move to show solidarity with their new-found allies Bangladesh, who had last month shot themselves in the foot by demanding their matches be moved out of India on security grounds only to be dumped out of the World Cup, is so much hot air. It is now clear it was Pakistan who was instigating Bangladesh from the start to snub India.
The ICC has threatened punitive measures if Pakistan goes ahead with its threat, though the full story is still unfolding. This includes a heavy financial burden as well as a possible ban from international cricket. The crisis was triggered by the Indian team’s decision not to shake hands with their counterparts at the men’s, women’s, and Under-19 levels, and their refusal to accept the Asia Cup last September from the hands of Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, who is both the PCB and Asian Cricket Council chief. Then came the uncalled-for removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman after he had been bought by IPL franchise KKR for Rs 9.2 crores. However, subsequent reactions and actions by both the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) and the PCB have allowed things to spiral out of control, with their own cricketers having to pay a heavy price for such politicisation. This malaise of politicians controlling cricket is an unfortunate aspect of cricket in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh cricketers had expressed their displeasure, and so has Pakistan’s captain Salman Ali Agha, who, on Monday, said at a press conference that the decision was not of the players and that they had no choice but to follow the government’s diktat. While other sports carry on peacefully—the Bangladesh shooting team will shortly be in New Delhi—the cricketers of South Asia are sadly pawns in a larger political game.
