Cricket can get back to business now that Pakistan has reversed its decision to boycott the game against India in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It took wiser counsel by several stakeholders, including the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the cricket administrations of Sri Lanka and other ICC member nations, to persuade the government of Pakistan to let the match go ahead on February 15.
Obviously, money was a major consideration in the reversal. That it took a broad coalition to bring it about is an indication of the stakes involved. Sri Lanka, for instance, stood to lose huge revenue from match tourism and ticket sales for the game in Colombo. That is why President Anura Dissanayake chipped in with a phone call to his Pakistani counterpart Shahbaz Sharif.
The commercial value of an India-Pakistan encounter is immense, not only to the two contestants, but also to the ICC and all its other members. An India-Pakistan clash in an ICC tournament is estimated to generate over Rs 2,200 crore in revenue. This money goes into a wider pool and is distributed round the table for development of the game in each member country.
Pakistan’s U-turn gives an opportunity for Indian cricket jingoists to do their usual flex before a match. Revenue from this encounter is much more crucial for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) than for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). For the former, the take from just one India-Pakistan ICC game can equal seven years of earnings while for the latter it would amount to about 4% of its revenue—most of which comes from the Indian Premier League.
For the ICC, too, India-Pakistan matches are a significant driver of revenue. A boycott or cancellation could have resulted in a loss of more than USD 250 million by way of broadcasting revenues. That explains why the ICC puts up with the BCCI’s prima donna behaviour. It summarily kicked out Bangladesh from the World Cup when that country refused to play matches in India due to security concerns; but when India-Pakistan takings were at stake, it rushed to cajole the PCB to go through with the match.
The BCCI emerges with no credit in this episode. In fact, it kicked off the politicking by making an unnecessary issue out of Kolkata Knight Riders recruiting Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman for the IPL. By forcing his ‘release’ due to the deteriorating diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh, it triggered a domino effect that nearly derailed the World Cup.
A wounded Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to travel to India, citing security concerns and "national pride." When ICC rejected the BCB’s request for a venue change, Bangladesh withdrew entirely. Jumping into the fray to score a political point, Pakistan announced a boycott of the match against India to show "solidarity" with Dhaka.
This has become a game of brinkmanship rather than sport. While the final outcome underscores BCCI’s heft in the game, the fact remains that cricket has become a plaything in the hands of politicians in South Asia.
When India and Pakistan last played a match, after the Pahalgam terror incident, players were forbidden to even shake hands. Given the runup to the game on Sunday, one dreads the prospect of the Indian commentariat and their jingoist followers reducing it to a spectacle of ridicule and acrimony.