Politics has always been an inseparable part of cricket.

It has been so since the days of the Imperial Cricket Council – the previous name of the International Cricket Council – when being a member of the Commonwealth was one of the prerequisites for becoming a Test nation.

In the modern age, money has been added to the unholy cocktail of politics and cricket, creating a concoction that is gradually choking the life out of the sport.

In the last one-and-a-half years, governments of three separate countries have openly imposed their will on their national teams’ participation in two global cricketing events.

First came India, informing the ICC in November 2024 that it would not travel to Pakistan for the following year’s ICC Champions Trophy under its government’s order.

A little over a year later, Bangladesh, also under government directives and amid security concerns, said it did not want to travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup, beginning today.

Then, on February 1, the Pakistan government announced that its national team would not take part in the highly anticipated group-stage clash against India in Colombo on February 15.

In all three instances, the ICC reacted differently – going to great lengths to accommodate India’s request, outright rejecting Bangladesh’s relocation plea, and asking Pakistan to reconsider its stance.

Many, mostly from India, have argued that India’s situation was different from Bangladesh’s, as it had announced its decision not to travel months in advance. But what they forgot to consider was that the situation which started it all – dropping Mustafizur Rahman from Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) – was a move made by India. 

It was done just over a month before the World Cup, meaning Bangladesh’s security concerns about travelling to a country that could not provide safety to one player were raised only a few days before the marquee event, invalidating the whole debate about requesting the ICC sooner for relocation of World Cup games.

However, the difference in the ICC’s response in Bangladesh’s and Pakistan’s cases gives an intriguing and rather unflattering insight into how the ICC actually works.

It took the ICC nearly three weeks before officially responding to Bangladesh’s relocation request through a media release, in which it brazenly refused the plea in a tone that felt less like an address to a member nation and more like an admonishment dealt to a pupil by the headmaster.

But that same headmaster became almost apologetic towards Pakistan, officially responding within hours and requesting reconsideration.

The reason for this polar-opposite reaction, unsurprisingly, is money.

If the India-Pakistan clash does not happen, the ICC will reportedly miss out on a $250 million payday.

Meanwhile, Indian analysts and former players, who were dismissive of rumours of a Pakistan boycott, are now clutching their pearls in outrage after, for once, being at the receiving end of the cricketing cold war with Pakistan they have long fuelled.

When the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested relocation of their World Cup matches from the ICC, it indirectly challenged India’s unmitigated influence over world cricket.

Although the BCB displayed diplomatic naivety in some regards, and Bangladesh were eventually replaced from the World Cup, their simple act of standing their ground has seemingly emboldened others to speak up.

Many former Pakistani players have been critical of the double standards shown by the ICC. Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie spoke about the same on X and then self-admittedly had to take the post down owing to online abuse from Indians.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain openly applauded Bangladesh and Pakistan for their stances, saying, “I actually quite like Bangladesh sticking to their guns. They stood up for their player, the Fizz. And I also quite like Pakistan — I know it’s political — but I like Pakistan sticking up for Bangladesh.”

For belling the cat that runs world cricket, Bangladesh will miss out on a World Cup for the first time since 1999.

However, whenever historians regale the story of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh’s name will inevitably come up.