If Pakistan is kept away from the Asia Cup, a public outcry is unlikely
Don't mix sport and politics, says Pakistan cricketer Mohammed Rizwan. It is the kind of statement made by those who understand neither politics nor sport. History has shown that sport is often politics by other means. Perhaps Rizwan fears that owing to his country's politics, international cricket might come to a standstill there. And if India refuse to play Pakistan on neutral territory, there will be a question mark over World Cups too. National coach and BJP politician Gautam Gambhir thinks India should not play Pakistan anytime anywhere. In India's plans to isolate Pakistan, cricket is a useful tool.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has clarified that a decision has not yet been taken on the Asia Cup to be played here in September. But it's difficult to see either Pakistan coming to India or India accommodating Pakistan by playing in the UAE or Sri Lanka. It is too soon, and, as the government has said, Operation Sindoor is ongoing. The current cessation of hostilities is only a 'strategic pause.'
For so long has cricket borrowed metaphors from the military that to see the traffic in the opposite direction (the IPL's 'strategic timeout') is startling. It might not be a bad idea to give cricket between the two countries a break from the jingoistic reactions either side of the border. In the current atmosphere, a public outcry is unlikely.
Politics vs. commerce
An Asia Cup without an India-Pakistan match is like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. It will be interesting to see the politics versus commerce argument unfold, since Sony has paid $170 million —for media rights for all Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments till 2031. This includes men's and women's tournaments in the Asia Cup, Under-19 and Emerging Nations competitions, the last of which is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka next month. So it is a question, as Rizwan might have realised by now, of mixing sport, politics and commerce.
There is too the question of the ACC itself, currently headed by Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi who is the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. The ACC, founded in 1983, was a useful body when Asia didn't have much of a voice in the International Cricket Council. But it might have overstayed its welcome. None of the full members seem to have the inclination of 'spreading the game' in the region with the kind of missionary zeal that was initially apparent.
Fifteen per cent of the broadcasting income from the Asia Cup goes to each of the full members India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. India apart, none can afford to let that amount go. If India refuse visas to the Pakistan team – other countries are unlikely to complain to the International Cricket Council now headed by the son of India's Home Minister — the television rights amount might have to be readjusted.
Indians keen to send the message to other countries that you support the enemy at your own peril, have made it a patriotic duty to stop visiting Türkiye or Azerbaijan, with a popular booking website saying 'In solidarity with our nation, we have discontinued all promotions and offers for travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey.' In the same spirit, it is possible that the BCCI might cancel India's tour of Bangladesh in August. A retired army official there was quoted as saying, 'If India attacks Pakistan, Bangladesh should occupy the seven states of North-East India. I think it is necessary to start a discussion on a joint-military system with China.' Competitive patriotism is a major sport in South Asia.
Pull outs
The Asia Cup has been buffeted by political winds before. In 1986, India pulled out of the tournament in Sri Lanka as relations with that country were at a low ebb. Pakistan pulled out in 1990-91 when it was held in India as political relations between the two were strained. In 1993, the tournament itself was cancelled for the same reason.
Cricket has a knack of muddling through violence, wrote Gideon Haigh recently, recalling political assassinations or terrorist attacks that have left ongoing cricket unaffected. But this feels different. India hold all the cards, and as recent events have shown, they are not shy of playing them.
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