The Pakistan media has attempted to justify the Pakistan cricket team’s (PCB) decision to boycott the February 15 Men’s ICC T20 World Cup match against India, stating the move was to protest against the “International Cricket Council (ICC) biased treatment of Bangladesh.”
However, the decision not to play in India is a clear violation of the tournament guidelines and will likely have repercussions from the ICC.
The PCB decision was conveyed by Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi after a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday night.
A report that appeared in Karachi-based Geo News quoted sources who said the decision was to express solidarity with Bangladesh. “The Pakistan team has been instructed not to play the February 15 match against India as a protest,” the unnamed source added.
The source also pushed the blame on Jay Shah, stating he turned the “ICC into Indian Cricket Council with his biased decision.” He stated that the “principles of justice and equality have been shattered by biased decisions” and added that double standards were being adopted while making decisions from the ICC.
Implications
Now that the decision is a clear violation of ICC norms, Pakistan will have to pay the price. The ICC had earlier accepted the PCB’s request to play India at neutral venues, hence it doesn’t have the legal grounds to take the decision. The BCCI, PCB and the ICC have signed a tripartite agreement guaranteeing that all India-Pakistan matches in ICC events until 2027 will be played at neutral venues.
Now that Pakistan has opted out of playing against India, it will be gifted two default points for the forfeiture.
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The PCB will also be slapped with financial penalties as the ICC will have to face many logistical and regulatory challenges.
Then there would be issues related to broadcasting. The broadcaster may seek compensation from the ICC for the losses it suffered, and the PCB would have to bear the loss.