T20 World Cup: Indian Team to Follow all ICC protocols Despite Pakistan’s Boycott
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 2: Amidst reports of Pakistan having decided to boycott its match against India in the coming T20 World Cup while participating in the tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided that the Indian squad will follow all the International Cricket Council (ICC) protocols and will be ready to play as per schedule. The match is scheduled to be played in Colombo on February 15.
Accordingly the Men in Blue will travel to Sri Lanka for the match as per ICC protocol and wait for the match referee to call off the match. Sources said the Team India would follow all required ICC protocols, practice as per schedule, hold their press conference, and arrive at Colombo’s SSC Cricket Ground. “Team India will travel to Sri Lanka and follow ICC protocol. They will practice as per schedule, do a press conference and reach the stadium according to time and wait for the match referee to call off the match,” the BCCI sources said on Monday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was tight-lipped over the Pakistan government’s decision on its team participating in the World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
Amid the drama, the Pakistani national team arrived in Colombo on Monday to play its other matches in the round robin league. A top source in the PCB said the Board would follow government instructions in case another game against the arch-foes gets lined up during the knockout stage of the tournament.
“The board has also been notified by the government that the national team will not play against India on 15th February and forfeit points in the World Cup. As for the scenario where Pakistan might be required to play against India in the knockout stages, the board will follow any decision taken by the government at that time as well,” the source explained.
Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18 in case the boycott decision for the game against India is not taken back. The PCB sources said the Board would convey its government’s decision to the ICC on Monday.
“As far as the PCB is concerned for a while now there has been a growing feeling that the ICC has not been just in its dealings with some of the other boards more recently with Bangladesh and one board cannot be allowed to run world cricket,” the source said. The ICC, in a statement on Sunday, said it “expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.”
The ICC statement also hinted that Pakistan’s revenue from the T20 World Cup would take a big hit if the decision was not changed. The government announcement caught the cricket fraternity in Pakistan off-guard on Sunday. Even though quite a few former players criticised the decision but they preferred not to speak on record due to the sensitivity of the situation.
“Pakistani cricket fans will lose interest in the World Cup if there is no match with India. It generates a lot of business in Pakistan during the World Cup for different sectors notably mainstream and digital media,” said Jamal Mir, the head of an advertising agency in Pakistan.
The Pakistan government did not give any reason for its decision not to play against India. Pakistan have a terrible record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups. The two teams have played eight times, with the record standing at 7-1 in India’s favour.
The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister in Pakistan, had met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week to brief him on the matter of the ICC throwing out Bangladesh from the tournament after it refused to send its team to India over purported “security concerns” and replaced it with Scotland.
The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB’s demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka, in the 20-team tournament. The decision followed an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India. Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person.
As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.
The ICC’s assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule. The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.
Following its meeting, the ICC Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.
Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy. The defending champions, Team India, are slotted in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, the USA, and arch-rivals Pakistan.
