Pak-India cricket World Cup clash uncertain amid rising tension

DUBAI: The ripple effects of India-Pakistan tension in the wake of the Pulwama attack in have been felt in cricket in the two countries who have had a stalemate over the years, reports international media.

As the governing bodies — the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) — have engaged in continual rows, India and Pakistan have not played a Test series against each other since 2007.

The Indian government refuses to allow India’s cricket team to play Pakistan and the countries only meet in International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments and they are scheduled to clash on June 16 at the World Cup in the U.K. in the tournament’s marquee match. However, turmoil is brewing. According to several media reports in India, the BCCI is set to write to the ICC and request Pakistan be banned from the World Cup which starts on May 30. If the demand is not met, the BCCI may consider withdrawing India from the tournament.

It comes on the back of the much-anticipated match in Manchester being thrown into uncertainty amid the fallout of the Pulwama attack.

The two boards are set to discuss the issue next week during what shapes as a pivotal ICC board meeting in Dubai. Cricket’s showpiece tournament will be in a flux if the situation spirals out of control with the India-Pakistan fixture deemed “one of the biggest sporting events in the world” by World Cup tournament director Steve Elworthy.

“That particular game, we had over 400,000 applications for tickets, which is an incredible number,” Elworthy said. “The stadium only holds 25,000 people. So there are a number of disappointed people. That’s just locally, but (there is also) the audience globally.

“To put that (number) in perspective, England v Australia was around 230-240,000. And the final was around about 260-270,000 applications for tickets. So that gives you a bit of perspective for the demand for this match (India v Pakistan). It’s a big game.”

ICC chief executive Dave Richardson is optimistic although the stakes are undeniably high. Matches between India and Pakistan have produced the three highest television ratings in cricket history behind the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

“We haven’t written to the boards as yet,” Richardson said. “Our thoughts are with the people that were impacted by the incident. And we are monitoring the situation with our members including the BCCI and PCB”.

Right now, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has felt the brunt of the situation with several Indian media outlets terminating its coverage.

Mumbai-based IMG Reliance pulled out as the official producer of the PSL not long after the PCB sold the tournament’s broadcasting rights for $36 million, while the broadcasting channel D-Sport suspended the telecast of the league in India.

Indian-based cricket websites Cricbuzz and Crictracker have also stopped covering the PSL, which does not feature any Indian cricketers who are forbidden to play outside of its own Indian Premier League due to BCCI rules.

Meanwhile, Indian government sources are against any hurried decision to boycott India’s World Cup 2019 match with Pakistan. After the Pulwama attack, there have been calls from many quarters not only to boycott the World Cup match, but also to seek Pakistan’s ban from the tournament. However, Government sources said that could act against India. “We should not get isolated in order to isolate Pakistan,” the sources told NDTV.