The focus of almost every team right now is on the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The Pakistan cricket team also falls under that category. The fans already get goosebumps thinking about how great it would be to defeat their arch-rivals at their own home. However, for that dream to be achieved, the team needs to travel to India for the all-important tournament.
What are Pakistan’s plans for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023?
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) itself is going through uncertainty with the chairman change fiasco. However, it is not the only uncertainty that surrounds cricket in Pakistan. There were also different discussions going on about whether the team will go to play in the ICC ODI World Cup or not. Politics and cricket should be poles apart. Unfortunately, this does not apply much when it comes to Pakistan and India, the two countries that have not even played one bilateral series in the last ten years due to the hostile political environment.
The issue, however, is much more complicated than this. While politics remain the main factor, it’s not the only one that makes it difficult for the two teams to travel to each other’s countries and the players to play in each other’s leagues.
BCCI and its stubbornness
It’s not a surprising fact that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is one of the strongest and richest cricketing boards. It’s one of the big players and has immense powers, which means it can exert pressure on other teams and mould the situation to get its own way.
Pakistan was set to host the Asia Cup 2023. Everything was going well until the BCCI refused to visit the country and send the Indian Cricket team to play. This opened up numerous different discussions and solutions. One of them was the hybrid Asia Cup, where the Indian team would play their games at a neutral venue while the other teams and the host country itself would play in Pakistan. This seemed a convenient solution that could work for everyone. However, when the schedule came, things were a bit different. Well, actually, they were a lot different.
Pakistan has only got its one game at home and will host a total of 4 matches. The PCB’s idea of a hybrid tournament was accepted but not implemented in the best way possible.
Is it wise to not travel to India?
The story, however, does not end here. PCB earlier also revealed that the boys in green would also not travel to India if the boys in blue do not travel to Pakistan. While this seems fair, Pakistan has to lose more if that would have been the case.
Not only is the ICC ODI World Cup more significant than the Asia Cup in terms of almost everything. The team would have lost a chance to play the biggest tournament of the year and miss out on a chance to win the World Cup and write its name in the history book.
The team has lost three tournaments in the last one year. The ICC ODI World Cup could be the one chance in which they can fix their own and the fans’ heartbreak. The team has three of its batsmen in the top ten of the ODI ranking. Their captain has the top spot. It also has one of the best bowling attacks, with the likes of Shaheen, Naseem, and Haris. The all-rounder Shadab Khan is a complete package. It would not be wrong to say that the team does have a high chance of having a great tournament, and if the stars align, they could even lift the beautiful trophy.
So why should the team with these prospects stay at home and watch all other teams play the tournament that happens after every four years? It would be unfair to the young men who have their eyes set on the world cup to give up on their dream because one cricketing board can manipulate its power and make the other board consider such measures.
India and Pakistan have one of the biggest cricketing rivalries. However, they only get to face one another in tournaments. There are no bilateral series, Pakistani players in IPL, or Indian players in PSL. This is indeed a loss for cricket. The Pakistan team missing out on the world cup would be a loss for the team and the game. The game deserves better.
The game also deserves to be kept away
from politics. PCB was not wrong to do the same that the BCCI was considering. Pakistan Cricket team not going to India for one tournament is theoretically the perfect answer to India not coming to Pakistan for another tournament. But things are different in reality, and this decision would have come with some unpleasant consequences. BCCI has several times brought politics into the game, but this does not mean that PCB has to do the same.
The solution to avoid such instances in the future
What needs to be done is better accountability for richer boards. The other boards and the cricket fraternity should also ensure the power is not being misused and politics is not used as an excuse to suppress a country’s growth in cricket. PCB’s efforts to not bow down to BCCI should be appreciated. However, the proposed solutions can be more carefully thought through, which do not hinder the Pakistan team’s growth in cricket in any way possible.
