The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sought an explanation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after it invoked the 'Force Majeure' clause to justify its decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India.
The PCB had previously emailed the ICC, expressing its intention to invoke the 'Force Majeure' clause, citing government orders as the reason for the boycott of the match scheduled in Colombo on February 15.
Force Majeure is a legal principle that exempts a party from fulfilling its contractual obligations due to extraordinary events beyond its control, such as war, natural disasters, government actions, or public emergencies.
To invoke this clause, the affected party must prove that the event was unforeseeable and unavoidable, and that they took all reasonable measures to minimize its impact. Simple inconvenience or political preference generally does not meet the criteria for Force Majeure.
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In this case, the PCB has cited Pakistan government’s announcement that its team would boycott the India fixture to support Bangladesh, who were shown the door for refusing to play in India due to “security concerns”.
The ICC, however, asked the PCB to explain what it has done to mitigate the Force Majeure event, as is required by the Members Participation Agreement (MPA), reported Cricinfo.
The global body also set out the conditions under which force majeure can legitimately be triggered, the evidences required for withdrawal from a scheduled match, and the wider sporting, commercial and governance consequences of such a step.
The ICC has reportedly informed the PCB that its constitution permits the ICC Board to take the extreme measure of suspending or terminating membership if a serious breach of obligations is deemed to have occurred.
Meanwhile, the ICC and the PCB have initiated back-channel negotiations after the Pakistan board approached the ICC seeking discussions to find a resolution.
