BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Monday said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was justified in warning Pakistan of grave ramifications for its selective pullout from the high-profile T20 World Cup clash against India in Colombo on February 15.
Following Bangladesh’s elimination from the competition due to the world body’s denial of its request to move matches from India to Sri Lanka due to security concerns, Pakistan’s decision—which was communicated through an official government statement—is perceived as a political protest.
The ICC has already informed Pakistan Cricket Board that a boycott of the marquee match might lead to punitive consequences and underlined that the move is not in the interest of the game in general.
“The ICC has issued a big statement on this subject. It has highlighted element of sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI will not make any comment until we speak to the ICC,” PTI quoted Shukla as saying.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the IPL on the BCCI’s orders for unclear reasons, which ignited the intense debate. After that, Bangladesh declined to visit India due to security concerns.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the game cannot be held to ransom in the manner it is being at present.
“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I don’t think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate intrusion of politics,” PTI quoted Tharoor as saying.
“I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction but it is also a reflection of the same and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. This whole thing is spiralling out of control. I honestly think this is now a wakeup call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it – just say, let’s call off this nonsense… You can’t go on like this forever,” he said.
With the highest worldwide audience, sponsorship interest, and broadcast revenue of any ICC event, the India-Pakistan match is the most eagerly awaited fixture.
For a major game where a 10-second commercial space can cost up to Rs 40 lakh, the host broadcaster may lose between Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore in advertising revenue. The ICC still has the power to penalize the PCB financially, even though a walkover would give India all the points.
The opposing team must be on the ground during the coin toss in order to receive a walkover. As a result, Suryakumar Yadav will be walking out for the toss when the Indian team travels to Sri Lanka. The match referee will give India two points and a walkover if Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha fails to show up.
There could also be a variety of punishments awaiting Pakistan, including docking of WTC points, no movement in ICC rankings, top member nations refusing to tour there and last but not the least -sanctions on involvement of players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
On February 7, Pakistan will begin their campaign against the Netherlands. On February 10, they will play the United States, and on February 18, they will play Namibia. The SSC ground in Colombo will host all of their games.
