Pakistan’s men’s cricket team will boycott the T20 World Cup match against India in support of Bangladesh, who were excluded from the tournament after refusing to travel to India for the match citing safety concerns.
The move will disrupt the tournament, as the India-Pakistan match has historically been the most lucrative and widely watched cricket tournament.
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of the “significant and long-term implications for cricket in the country” and the impact on the global cricket ecosystem.
But what impact will these have and what impact could this boycott have on the future of cricket?
How will the ICC react to Pakistan’s boycott?
The world cricket body has responded to the Pakistan boycott by saying the decision could be damaging to the match and that it wants to resolve the issue with the PCB, but the ICC has not clearly outlined a plan of action if a resolution is not achieved.
Al Jazeera contacted the ICC but did not receive a response.
Cricket experts believe that the ICC would have put the plan into action by contacting the PCB and convening a board meeting to resolve the crisis.
“The ball is now in the court of the ICC,” former ICC head of media and communications Sami Ul Hasan told Al Jazeera.
“The ICC will convene its Board of Directors and all members to assist in resolving this situation. All authority of the ICC rests with the Board of Directors and the Board will determine the next steps.”
“Pakistan is already in Sri Lanka and will play the match on the first day of the tournament. The meeting should be held as soon as possible.”
What action can the ICC take?
As the sport’s global governing body, the ICC has complete control over games, tournaments and how they are run.
“The ICC has broad powers,” Hasan said.
“It could range from paying a fine to suspending board membership,” he explained, adding that as a former cricket administrator he hopes the ICC does not go down that path.
“Suspensions and sanctions are not the solution, as extreme measures weaken small cricket organizations. We would like to see this issue resolved to prevent it from escalating into a major crisis that could have long-term implications for cricket.”
What do the ICC rules say?
All member boards participating in ICC events sign a participation agreement that outlines the rules, laws, and terms of the member board and ICC.
Hasan said the PCB could use one such clause to defend the case.
“The force majeure clause is available to all countries and specifies that if the government of a participating country prevents a team from participating, that team cannot play.” “We do not know how the ICC legal team will interpret this law.”
He explained that if the parties reach an impasse and the matter escalates into a legal battle, the ICC’s Dispute Settlement Committee could take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), an independent body that resolves sports disputes.
Hasan warned against such a move, saying it would not be good publicity for the game of cricket.
Is Pakistan’s move unprecedented? If not, why would the ICC threaten it?
Pakistan’s boycott is not the first time a team has refused to host a match following government instructions.
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, co-hosted by Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, was the first tournament to be boycotted, with Australia and the West Indies refusing to travel to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns and the loss of points.
In 2003, New Zealand and England withdrew from matches in Kenya and Zimbabwe, citing impasses between their governments and African governments.
However, Hasan believes Pakistan’s boycott of the match against India will have a much bigger impact on the tournament and the sport.
“The value of this match is too great for the ICC to overlook,” he said.
How much will ICC lose?
Hasan, who has worked on several ICC World Cups, said the governing body would incur huge losses if the matches were not held as scheduled.
“If the biggest match of the tournament does not take place, the biggest hit will be media rights, which are a major part of the ICC’s revenue,” he explained.
“The ICC sells media rights for all matches, of which India vs Pakistan is the biggest and most valuable.
“If the match does not take place, the sponsor will not pay the rights fee for the match and the ICC will suffer a loss. I don’t know the numbers, but the loss will be significant.”
The ICC operates as a not-for-profit global sports organization, generating revenue from a variety of events and distributing the revenue to its member board. Therefore, while the ICC itself will not suffer any loss, the member board will suffer, Hasan explained.
“It (boycott) could lead to economic and legal repercussions and would also have ramifications for future ICC tournaments.
“The financial impact will be severe for some countries (other than India, Australia and the United Kingdom) who rely on ICC revenues to ensure the continuation of the game.”
Could Pakistan face financial sanctions?
Previous forfeited matches did not result in any financial harm or suspension for the boycotting teams, but given the huge financial losses feared from this boycott, the ICC may force the PCB to pay compensation.
“The ICC may go back to the PCB and shift the losses to the PCB,” Hasan said.
The former cricket administrator believes that the Pakistan government must have considered all disciplinary measures when it decided to boycott the match.
“It would not have been an easy decision (for Pakistan).”
How will the Pakistan boycott affect the future of cricket?
If there is no match between India and Pakistan on February 15, it will be the first time that a blockbuster match is forfeited in the ICC World Cup.
Hasan believes the move could be damaging to the sport.
“If the right decisions are not made behind closed doors, world cricket will suffer a huge blow,” he said.
Hasan pointed to the incident that set off the chain of events that led to the boycott, and said the chaos could have been avoided by one official’s comments.
SBangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has been banned from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This is due to continuing political tensions between the two countries.
Last month, BCCI chief Devajit Saikia said, “In view of the recent developments in various places, the BCCI has directed franchise KKR to remove one of its players, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman, from the squad.”
Hasan lamented the timing and wording of the statement.
“Let’s not forget that this situation arose due to the sending off of one player and the statement of one administrator. That player was Mustafizur Rahman and that statement was made by the BCCI chief.”.
“From there, it got to where it is now.”
