The cricketing world is talking about Pakistan’s sudden decision to boycott their T20 World Cup clash against India. However, this move was sparked by Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament for refusing to travel to India for their group-stage matches, stating ‘security concerns’.
“The public in both countries, by and large, are sort of brothers and sisters and they kind of get on fine. And the players between India and Pakistan have historically always gone on fantastically as well. But above that, politically, it’s not a good look at all. So, bilaterally they don’t play against each other. However, in ICC tournaments, they are always placed in the same group. Why? Because it is the most lucrative fixture in the world of cricket-and some say in the world of sports,” former England cricketer Mark Butcher said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
Mark Butcher also stated that, considering the scale and financial implications of the high-profile encounter, a boycott can be a ‘disaster’ for both India and the ICC.
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Butcher noted: “They’ve [Pakistan] turned around and said, ‘Okay, we still want to be involved in the tournament. However, we are not going to play against India because of what you have done with Bangladesh.’ You had the opportunity to play our Champions Trophy that should have been in Pakistan and Dubai. You have not afforded Bangladesh the same courtesy. And therefore, in a sort of brotherhood with our Muslim cousins, we are not going to play against you. And for India, that’s a disaster. For the ICC, it’s a disaster because of the financial size of that fixture.”
“Now Pakistan are in a situation where they are sort of a younger brother or a cousin of India, and India pretty much gets its own way. It’s the most powerful and the wealthiest country in the world of cricket. And therefore, Pakistan basically have to suck it up,” he shared again.
“So when they had the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, you could see it coming from a mile off that India were not going to go and play in Pakistan. So everything got rearranged, and this is where my biggest problem comes in. When this stuff happens, it affects all of the other teams in the tournament because all of a sudden their program has to change; they have to fly out of the country to go and meet India in a place they want to play, and everybody else has to fit in,” he concluded.
