Pakistan men’s cricket team will Boycott A match against India in the T20 World Cup in support of Bangladesh, who were kicked out of the tournament after they refused to travel to India for their game due to security concerns.
The decision will disrupt the tournament as the India-Pakistan match has historically been the most lucrative and widely followed match of any cricket tournament.
Recommended stories
4 List of itemsEnd of list
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of “significant and long-term consequences for cricket in its own country” and the impact on the global cricket ecosystem.
But what are the implications and how might this boycott affect the future of cricket?
How will ICC react to Pakistan’s boycott?
While the World Cricket Association responded to Pakistan’s boycott by saying the decision could damage the game and that it hoped to resolve the matter with the PCB, the ICC did not outline a plan of action if a resolution was not reached.
Al Jazeera contacted the ICC but did not receive a response.
Cricket experts believe that the ICC may have hatched a plan by approaching the PCB and calling a board meeting to resolve the crisis.
“The ball is now in the ICC’s court,” Sami ul Hasan, the ICC’s former head of media and communications, told Al Jazeera.
“The ICC will convene a board meeting and call on all members to help resolve this situation. All powers of the ICC rest with its board, which will decide on the next step.
“Pakistan is already in Sri Lanka and will play on the first day of the tournament. The meeting should be held as soon as possible.”
What possible action could the ICC take?
As the world governing body of the game, the ICC has complete control over the game, its competitions and how the game is conducted.
“The ICC has broad powers,” Hasan said.
“There could be all sorts of ways, from fines to suspension of board membership,” he explains, adding that as a former cricket administrator, he hopes the ICC will not go down that path.
“Suspensions and bans are not the solution as extreme steps weaken the small cricket fraternity. I would like them to see this solution so that it does not turn into a major crisis that could affect cricket in the long run.”
What do the ICC Rules say?
All member bodies participating in ICC events sign a participation agreement which outlines the rules, regulations and provisions for member bodies and the ICC.
According to Hasan, PCB can rely on one such provision to defend its case.
“The force majeure clause available to all nations clearly states that a team cannot play if the government of any participating nation prevents its team from participating,” he explained. “We don’t know how the ICC’s legal team will interpret this law.”
He explained that if the two sides reach an impasse and the matter turns into a legal battle, the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee can refer the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), an independent body that resolves sports disputes.
Hasan warned against such a practice saying that it would not be a good advertisement for the game of cricket.
Is Pakistan’s move unprecedented? If not then why is ICC threatening?
Pakistan’s boycott is not the first instance of a team refusing to play a match as directed by the Pakistani government.
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, co-hosted by Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, was the first World Cup to be hit by a boycott when Australia and the West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka due to security concerns and loss of points.
In 2003, New Zealand and England pulled out of their games in Kenya and Zimbabwe due to their governments’ impasse with the African nation’s administration.
However, Hasan believes that Pakistan’s boycott against India will have far-reaching implications for the tournament and the game.
“The value of this game is too great for the ICC to ignore,” he said.
How much will the ICC lose?
According to Hasan, who has worked during several ICC World Cups, the governing body will suffer a huge loss if the matches are not held as scheduled.
“The biggest hit, if not the biggest game of the tournament, will be the media rights, which form a major part of the ICC’s revenue,” he explained.
“ICC sells media rights for all games, with India-Pakistan being the biggest and most valuable.
“If the match does not take place, the sponsors will not pay for the rights to that match and the ICC will suffer a loss. Although we do not know the figures, the loss will be significant.”
The ICC operates as a non-profit global sports organization that generates revenue from its various programs and distributes it to its member bodies. Hasan explained that the ICC will not be harmed, but member bodies will be affected.
“It (the boycott) may have financial and legal consequences, which will also affect future ICC tournaments.
“The financial implications will be severe for some countries – except India, Australia and England – which depend on the ICC’s revenue to keep the game going.”
Could Pakistan face economic sanctions?
In the past, boycotting teams have not been financially penalized or banned for losing matches, but given the huge financial losses this boycott will cause, the ICC may pay the PCB.
“The ICC can go back to the PCB and damage them,” Hassan said.
The former cricket administrator believes that the Pakistan government should weigh all possible punitive measures when deciding to boycott the game.
“(For Pakistan) this decision would not have been easy.”
How does Pakistan’s boycott affect the future of cricket?
If there is no India-Pakistan match on February 15, it will be the first time that a blockbuster match has been missed in the ICC World Cup.
Hassan believes the move could harm the sport.
“World cricket will be hit hard if proper decisions are not taken behind closed doors,” he said.
Saying that an officer’s statement could have prevented the mess, Hasan pointed to the chain of events leading up to the boycott.
STar was Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman Expulsion From the Indian Premier League (IPL), on the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), due to the ongoing political tension between the two nations.
BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia said last month, “Due to the recent developments going on all over, the BCCI has directed the franchise KKR to drop Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman from their squad.
Hassan lamented the timing and wording of the statement.
“We must remember that this situation arose because of the dismissal of a player and the statement of an administrator – that player was Mustafizur Rahman and the statement was made by the BCCI secretary..
“From there, we’ve gotten to this point.”