Sports
‘Easy to talk about’: BCCI official responds to calls for scrapping Pak vs Ind games
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday dismissed suggestions to avoid Pakistan-India games in International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments.
Former England captain Michael Atherton had urged ICC to stop scheduling fixtures that ensure India and Pakistan face each other in every major tournament.
According to an Indian news website, a BCCI official termed it ‘easy’ to give suggestions about the Pakistan-India matches, but argued that broadcasters would not agree to such a schedule which does not feature the blockbuster clash between the arch-rivals.
“It’s easy to talk about all this, but will sponsors and broadcasters agree to it? In today’s situation, if any major team, not just India, withdraws from a tournament, it will be difficult to attract sponsors,” the report quoted the BCCI official as saying.
Atherton’s remarks came in the wake of the tension and controversy that followed last month’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, where the two arch-rivals met three times, including in the final.
The event was marred by heated exchanges, while India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav also refused to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Agha.
The animosity extended beyond the men’s event, as the skippers of both women’s teams, Pakistan’s Fatima Sana and India’s Harmanpreet Kaur, also avoided shaking hands after their ODI Women’s World Cup match in Colombo on Sunday.
Writing in his column for The Times (UK), Atherton acknowledged that the ICC’s decision to schedule India-Pakistan fixtures in global tournaments has strong commercial and diplomatic motivations.
The two teams have faced each other in the group stage of all 11 ICC events held since 2013.
“Despite its rarity — or perhaps because of it — the fixture carries huge economic clout,” Atherton wrote.
“It is one of the main reasons why ICC tournament broadcast rights are valued so highly, around $3 billion for the 2023–27 cycle,” he added.
He further noted that with bilateral cricket losing financial value, ICC events have grown in importance, making the India-Pakistan clash a crucial factor for broadcasters and stakeholders.
However, Atherton argued that the match has now become a platform for political and emotional display rather than sporting competition.
“If cricket was once a vehicle for diplomacy, it has now clearly become a proxy for broader tensions and propaganda,” he stated.
“There is little justification for a serious sport to manipulate tournament fixtures purely for economic benefit. Given how the rivalry is being exploited, there is even less reason to continue this practice.”
The 57-year-old concluded by urging the ICC to ensure transparency in future tournament draws.
“For the next broadcast rights cycle, the fixture draw should be transparent — and if India and Pakistan don’t meet every time, so be it.”
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Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott on Monday advised the Ben Stokes-led side to adopt a more strategic and thoughtful approach ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia, scheduled for Thursday in Brisbane.
England suffered an agonising eight-wicket defeat in the series opener in Perth, which lasted less than two days, the first of which was dominated by the touring side as they had reduced the hosts to 123/9 after accumulating 172 all out.
The visitors now face another gruelling challenge in the blockbuster series as they take on the Baggy Greens in a pink-ball Test, in which the hosts boast a dominant record, having lost just one out of their previous 14 appearances, but Boycott, who has won Ashes both in England and Australia, believes that the Three Lions can win the upcoming game by adopting a calculated strategy.
He, however, warned England batters of self-destruction, advising them to “use their brains” and decide whether to attack or hold back after analysing the situation.
“But it doesn’t help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button,” Boycott wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“Nobody is asking the players to stop being positive because they have given us some marvellous, thrilling and entertaining cricket. All we ask is for them to use their brains and realise there are times when they should throttle back and be aware of situations and bat accordingly,” he added.
Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests and 36 ODIs, also slammed Stokes for his comments in which he referred to former cricketers as “has-beens” but expressed satisfaction over the all-rounder’s partial apology.
“To call past players ‘has-beens’ was disrespectful, especially as some of those ‘has-beens’ played in teams that won the Ashes in England and Australia,” Boycott wrote.
“I am glad Ben has half apologised, saying it was a slip of the tongue, because none of this team has won the Ashes in Australia. Get the job done, because then you don’t need to say anything and you can bask in all the glory coming your way.”
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