Tense Pakistan and India standoff poses threat to Cricket World Cup fixtures

The men’s Cricket World Cup is less than five months away and could yet see its schedule plunge into chaos amid an ongoing impasse involving Pakistan, India and the Asia Cup.

The six-team Asia Cup is scheduled for September and has become a point of principle for the hosts Pakistan after India – staging the 50-over men’s World Cup starting in October – indicated they cannot send their national team to the country. In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board has proposed a “hybrid model” in which India’s Asia Cup matches – including up to three blockbuster games against Pakistan – and the second half of the tournament are held in the United Arab Emirates.

Najam Sethi, chair of the PCB, says this offer needs to be accepted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the Asia Cup will be called off. Equally, his government may insist on the same “hybrid” arrangements for Pakistan during India’s tournament.

If so Pakistan would have to play all nine World Cup group matches and any knockout appearances in the UAE, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka, forcing the International Cricket Council to rip up a fixture list that – incredibly for a global tournament so close to its proposed start date – is still to be published.

“I am hoping [the hybrid model for the Asia Cup] won’t be rejected or the consequences won’t be good for all of us,” Sethi told the Observer. “It’s not a threat – it’s a solution. By logic all matches should be played in Pakistan. India have said they cannot play in Pakistan. They have given no reasons. They can’t cite security – we have had England, Australia and New Zealand all tour in the last 18 months.

“India is creating the problem and compelling us to take a position we do not want to take. But there is no option. If India refuses to play in Pakistan then my government is going to tell me you can’t play in India. Then what do I do?”

Tense political relations have seen the two countries pause bilateral cricket in recent times, with Pakistan’s brief white-ball tour of India in 2012-13 their last such encounter. They have continued to meet in global tournaments, however, with television audiences estimated to range between 300 million and 500 million viewers.

As such, they represent a huge source of revenue for the ICC and the world game, central to the new £2.5bn broadcast deal that runs from 2024 to 2027. Moving their World Cup match out of India would cause ructions in the country but Pakistan, also hosting the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, do not want to lose face.

Sethi said: “My government could say to me that the security situation in India vis-a-vis Pakistanis is not good, you can’t go there. So my solution is to apply the hybrid model there, too – it could be Bangladesh next door or Sri Lanka. Or it could be in the UAE. Then comes the Champions Trophy. Again [India] will refuse. So this hybrid model should work again. This is a solution for three important tournaments. Pakistan and India matches make up 80% of Asia Cup revenues. If we don’t play each other in the Asia Cup, it will be ruinous. Similarly [for] the World Cup.”

Sethi said the compromise solution was put to the Asian Cricket Council last Tuesday with the body, chaired by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, now considering its response. A 50-over tournament for this edition, having been a Twenty20 format last year, the Asia Cup also features Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and qualifiers Nepal.

When contacted by the Observer, the ICC insisted the delay in issuing the World Cup dates was not due to the India versus Pakistan issue and an announcement is expected after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Reports out of India have suggested it begins on 5 October with a repeat of the 2019 final – champions England versus New Zealand – and concludes on 19 November. The BCCI has also been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, Pakistan have appointed former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Bradburn as the head coach of their men’s team on a two-year deal after a successful spell as consultant.

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