After calls for India to boycott their World Cup clash against Pakistan, BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (CoA) have reportedly drafted a letter to the ICC asking the international body to ban the country from participating in the tournament altogether.
The CoA is reportedly set to meet on Friday, 22 February, to discuss the letter and then take up the matter with the Indian government, ESPNCricinfo has reported.
The arch-rivals are scheduled to face each other in a group-stage clash at the ICC World Cup 2019 on 16 June at Manchester – a game many in India want called off after the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans.
CoA member Diana Edulji was quoted as saying, "We will discuss the procedures to be followed and the way forward. We will consult the ministry of external affairs, ministry of home affairs and the sports ministry. We will also look at how things have been done in the past,” in the report.
Will They, Won’t They?
With less than four months remaining to the scheduled India-Pakistan fixture at the World Cup in England, the lack of clarity on where things stand is glaring.
The two-member CoA, not for the first time, is a divided house, according to an India Today report.
Chairman Vinod Rai wants the BCCI to write to the ICC asking them to ban Pakistan from the event altogether – a decision fellow CoA member Diana Edulji is not in agreement with.
Among ex-cricketers, too, the opinion seems to be split.
Former captains Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin, as well as 2011 World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh, feel India should boycott the game against Pakistan, whereas former opener Chetan Chauhan has cautioned against the possible repercussions of doing the same.
IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, meanwhile, has said that the BCCI won’t go ahead with the match without the government’s nod of approval.
Adding to the confusion around the state of affairs is BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, who has indicated that the BCCI reserves theright to participating at the World Cup – and playing against Pakistan – in an interview to Hindustan Times.
The Risk: As It Stands
ANI’s report states that the BCCI is yet to have written to the ICC, and the governing body itself had said on Tuesday, 19 February, that it is yet to receive any indication that the India-Pakistan clash won’t go ahead.
The precedent from past instances of forfeitures at the World Cup is clear: if a team opts not to play a game at the tournament, it automatically gives a walkover to the opponent – meaning the points for the match will be awarded to Pakistan, if India are to withdraw from the tie at Manchester.
Previous World Cups, in 1996 and 2003, have seen teams refuse to play in certain countries – and ‘lose’ the game by default.
In 1996, Australia and West Indies had opted out of their group-stage matches in Sri Lanka after LTTE attacks in Colombo in the lead-up to the event. In 2003, England boycotted their group encounter in Zimbabwe to protest against the dictatorial Robert Mugabe, while New Zealand did not travel to Kenya citing security concerns.
Both England and New Zealand paid for the dropped points later in the tournament, with England finishing behind Zimbabwe in the group stage and New Zealand being edged by Kenya to a semi-final spot.
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