After an eventful buildup, ripe with cricketing diplomacy and wider geopolitical implications, perennial enemies India and Pakistan are set to face off in Colombo in their Group A match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup tomorrow.
However, questions remain whether politics will stay out of the field during the India-Pakistan encounter this time or will it find a way to creep in, like it did in last year’s Asia Cup T20.
In that tournament in the UAE, both teams faced off thrice, with India coming out on top in all three. The first two victories were straightforward ones, but the third, which was also the final, went down to the last over, with India reaching home with two balls to spare.
After a considerable while, an India-Pakistan encounter had produced a close finish like that. But by the end of the night, the biggest talking point was not the game. It was India’s refusal to receive the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsi Naqvi, who, in return, decided to end the ceremony without handing over the silverware.
Political tensions were palpable in all three matches, with Indian players refusing to shake hands with Pakistani opponents, and players from both sides taunting opposing teams and fans with gestures hinting at the recent military clashes between the countries.
The entire episode left a sour taste in the mouths of all cricket fans, and the ethereal ‘Spirit of Cricket’ took a hiding.
Around five months have passed since then. The Asia Cup trophy is still collecting dust in the ACC offices, as both sides are again set to face off following an extremely rocky buildup.
The fate of this group-stage meetup was up in the air for weeks, and was finally given the green light on last Monday when Pakistan government reversed its decision to boycott the match following multilateral discussions and requests from different stakeholders.
Bangladesh was a key factor in the turmoil, as Pakistan issued the boycott in solidarity with Bangladesh after they were replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for refusing to play in India over security concerns.
The deadlock ended following a tripartite meeting between ICC, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in Lahore last Sunday, after which, ICC assured no sanctions for BCB and promised the hosting rights to an ICC event between 2028-2031.
According to reports, PCB had tried to twist the arm of ICC by holding their most lucrative match hostage. Many demands were speculated -- like a more equitable ICC revenue sharing model, a restoration of bilateral series with India, and making post-match handshakes between teams mandatory.
But in ICC’s official statement, none of the speculated demands were mentioned. However, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of some undisclosed understanding between PCB and ICC.
After so much hoopla, the India-Pakistan match will go on as originally scheduled.
Going only by past head-to-head record between the sides in T20Is, this is a lopsided battle with India having won 13 of the 16 past meetings and Pakistan not having beaten India since 2022.
Much is being said about Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq, and defending champions India have also shown some signs of weakness, getting reduced to 77-6 against USA in their first game. Still, Pakistan will start the match as underdogs, and cricket fans will tune in on Sunday hoping to see an intense match, not political posturing.
