How Pakistan cricket, Asia Cup will be impacted if BCCI withdraws

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has been advised to completely boycott Pakistan following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which led to escalating tensions that eventually culminated in a military showdown between the two nuclear-armed South Asian nations. And not just boycott them in the men’s game but across all levels, including in women’s cricket as well as at the U-19 level.

On Monday, reports suggested that the powerful board took its first step in that direction by conveying to the Asian Cricket Council its decision to withdraw the Indian team from the two continental events that will be taking place later this year.

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While the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Cup is also scheduled to take place this year, the spotlight is firmly fixed on the Men’s Asia Cup – where India and Pakistan would have been expected to face each other a couple of times at the very least and potentially thrice.

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BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia responded to the report later on Monday, categorically denying reaching out to the ACC regarding India’s withdrawal from the Asia Cup and other events and adding that the board’s focus is on the ongoing Indian Premier League and the upcoming tour of England.

Saikia’s response, however, might be one that would be expected from the BCCI secretary or other senior official till the time the board does not come out with an official statement.

And given the ACC is headed by Pakistan Cricket Board president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the country’s Federal Interior Minister, chances of India boycotting Asian events this year and beyond doesn’t appear too outlandish a prospect. Such a decision by the BCCI, therefore, will hardly come as a surprise.

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But how will such a stance impact the ACC in general and Pakistan in particular?

Why the BCCI’s announcement will hit Pakistan hard

Unlike their Indian counterparts, who virtually run the sport thanks to their financial might, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is largely dependent on the income that it earns from the International Cricket Council and the ACC. And an Indian withdrawal from a global or an Asian event spells trouble for Pakistan one way or another.

“The ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India. It is frightening,” former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja had said in 2021 , back when he was heading the PCB.

“In a way India’s business houses are running Pakistan cricket and if tomorrow the Indian PM decides he will not allow any funding to Pakistan, this cricket board can collapse,” Raja added.

If India’s withdrawal from the Asia Cup does not lead to the tournament’s cancellation this year, it certainly will be a loss-making venture for the ACC which in turn will affect the boards who will be participating in the event.

India, after all, aren’t just successful across formats and have been winning or finishing runners-up across ICC and ACC events in recent years – they are also the biggest draw from the organisers and sponsors’ point of view.

And the absence of the Men in Blue will means no India-Pakistan contest either. The two arch-rivals have not played bilateral cricket since the 2012-13 season, and a meeting between the two nations, whether in an ICC or an ACC event, is something of a Christmas gift for broadcasters.

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) had acquired the rights for the Asia Cup for the next eight years for a sum of US$ 170 million last year. However, India’s likely withdrawal from this year’s event will likely lead to re-negotiations between the broadcaster and the Dubai-based ACC, which in turn will make the pockets of the PCB and other Asian boards lighter.

Cancellation of Asia Cup likely on the cards

India had boycotted the 1986 edition of the Asia Cup, which had featured hosts Sri Lanka alongside Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Lankans went on to win the tournament after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in the final. Interestingly, it was India’s strained relations with Sri Lanka and not Pakistan that led to their withdrawal from that edition of the tournament.

However, it is highly unlikely in this day and age that the Asia Cup will go ahead without India being part of the action, given the number of eyeballs that the Men in Blue attract and how their presence skyrockets ad rates. In an age where financial power plays a huge role in the sport, India’s participation can prove to be a deal-breaker from the broadcasters’ perspective.

And the BCCI did flex its muscle recently by ensuring all of India's matches in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year were moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from Pakistan, the country that had been awarded hosting rights for a global event for the first time in nearly three decades.

The ICC wasn’t willing to host the Champions Trophy without India, and it is highly unlikely that the ACC will go ahead following the BCCI’s latest stance, despite Naqvi leading the organisation.