Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : ICC must stop regional politics from disrupting the world of cricket and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
The International Cricket Council should have proactively attempted to stop the brewing trouble from spilling over; instead, on Sunday, it reactively pointed to the resultant long-term financial losses. What makes matters more intriguing is that Jay Shah heads the ICC. So any ICC decision could be seen as having political implications, both at home and abroad. It’s why the decision to remove Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL set off a chain reaction that could affect the sport’s financing.
The absence of even one India-Pakistan match, the sport’s biggest fixture, could cause broadcasters a rethink in the future. The money offered by broadcasters ensured that the neighbours were clubbed in a group at ICC events for a decade. In turn, this match funded a lot of lesser teams. What happens now? Though India’s hegemony cannot be broken, Pakistan and Bangladesh have shown it can be disrupted. There have been boycotts earlier too, but the uncertainty was never like this. This could also adversely affect India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics and even the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The ICC must find a way out before the politics gets darker. If the Orwellian thought that ‘sports is war without weapons’ takes hold in these deeply polarised times, there’s no guaranteeing how the rivalry will spill over from the playing field.