Why is the Champions Trophy emerging as Pakistan’s new war game?

HOCKEY continues to be the national sport of both India and Pakistan but it is only cricket that is closely tied to their diplomatic relations. No cricket match draws global attention like an India-Pakistan clash, this fierce competition between the two nations tracing its roots to the partition of British India in 1947.During the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which starts today, India is not playing in Pakistan but will play all its matches in Dubai -- ignoring the fact that hosting the Champions Trophy is a bigger medal for Pakistan than defeating India at home.

Pakistan is getting this medal after 29 long years. The country hosted the ICC World Cup in 1996 in collaboration with India and Sri Lanka. Those were the days Sri Lanka was fighting a war against the Tamil Tigers. Due to some terror attacks inside and around Colombo, Australia refused to tour Sri Lanka. Both India and Pakistan decided to rescue Sri Lanka. A joint India-Pakistan team went to Sri Lanka and played a match there. This joint India-Pakistan team was led by Muhammad Azharudin. Imagine that just 29 years ago great players like Sachin Tendulkar and Waseem Akram were playing together in one team just to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan nation which was facing the threat of terrorism.

After a few years, Pakistan faced the same situation. On March 3, 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore while traveling from their hotel to the stadium to play the third day of the second Test Match against the Pakistani cricket Team. Seven Sri Lankan players sustained minor injuries but the bus driver, Mehar Muhammad Khalil, had kept on driving and reached the stadium. Meanwhile, the police were engaged with more than a dozen terrorists who were firing not only bullets but also rockets; six policemen and two civilians lost their lives in the brazen attack.

Umpire Ahsan Raza was among those who were seriously injured. Three bullets pierced his lungs, liver and feet and after emerging from a coma, it was nearly one year before Raza could walk again. There were 88 stitches on his wounds. He faced many complications and had another operation in 2019. This time his stomach had more than 40 stitches. Despite many medical issues and pain, he never gave up and continued as an international cricket umpire. He is now among the twelve umpires who are part of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Brave Ahsan Raza emerged as the new face of international cricket, defeating all the hurdles that came his way due to multiple medical problems.

This is not only the success story of one Ahsan Raza. He is part of a bigger story which tells us how Pakistani cricket survived a terrorist attack in the last 16 years. Almost all cricketing nations refused to visit Pakistan after the 2009 attack in Lahore. India and Pakistan joined hands in 1996 to save cricket from terrorism but the situation was different in 2009. The Indians refused to play in Pakistan after the attack on the Sri Lankan team. International cricket almost died in Pakistan but the PCB never gave up. The PCB head at the time, Najam Sethi, introduced the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2015 to save international cricket at home. It was a Pakistani version of the IPL which had started in 2008. Indian cricketers were not allowed to play in the PSL and initially PSL matches were played in the UAE but then this tournament was shifted to Pakistan. All International players except Indians have been coming to Pakistan and participating in the Super League. In fact, the PSL’s success paved the way for the ICC Champions Trophy.

While Pakistani cricket survived a terrorist attack, the country is still fighting terrorism. In the year 2024 more than 2500 Pakistanis lost their lives in terror attacks including 700 security personnel. India still blames Pakistan for terrorism and Pakistan blames India for funding terrorist activities in its Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Half of Pakistan is still under attack. The matches of the Champions Trophy though will be played in half of the safe part of Pakistan.

Some political analysts think that India is now using cricket as a new form of sanctions against Pakistan. India’s refusal to play in Pakistan definitely disappointed cricket fans here but there is another side of the picture. Pakistan is treating the Indian boycott in a very different way. The Champions Trophy is Pakistan’s new war game against terrorism. The Pakistan Army is directly involved in the safety and security of all cricket teams and all matches.

Why is this Champions Trophy important for Pakistan? The success of the tournament will be viewed as the defeat of terrorism in Pakistan. This success may attract more international attention -- and especially some foreign investment.

Pakistan has used cricket as a form of diplomacy in the past to normalise its relations with India. This time Pakistan is using this international cricket event to improve its image around the world. While cricketers are bigger stars than politicians in India and Pakistan, we cannot ignore the importance of umpires. A cricket match is a peaceful sporting event of 22 players, 11 from each side, and three umpires. A cricket match is nothing without two on-field umpires and a third umpire sitting outside the field.

Umpires like Ahsan Raza are the real heroes of this Champions Trophy. He is a symbol of courage and resilience and he actually reflects the resilience of the whole of the Pakistani nation. More than 75,000 Pakistanis have been killed in the last 25 years in terror attacks. Losses to the Pakistani economy exceeded $175 billion. Despite all these losses, Pakistan never gave up and is now sending a message to the world by hosting the Champions Trophy that Pakistan is safe. The success of the Champions Trophy will be the success of a new war game fought through cricket.

Pakistan needs to be very vigilant during this war game because the Champions Trophy is a game-changer for Pakistan. After this great change, the Indian cricket team will definitely come to Pakistan and we may see both Sachin Tendulkar and Waseem Akram watching a match in Karachi or Lahore and refreshing the memories of 1996 when they were part of one team.