It’s the BCCI and India’s world, we’re just living in it
The inevitable finally happened.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) twisted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) arm to have the Indian team’s fixtures on neutral soil in the United Arab Emirates for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which Pakistan were set to solely host. This will be the first time since 1996 World Cup that Pakistan are hosting a world event.
International cricket in Pakistan had come to a crashing halt after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. Over the years Pakistan have worked hard to heal from those wounds and have had international teams, including the likes of England and Australia, visit to play in multiple tours.
This edition of the Champions Trophy would essentially be Pakistan’s announcement to the world that things are better now. Unfortunately, the optimism of this message fails to translate completely for the BCCI and India.
A valid concern
India have been very elusive in returning to play in Pakistan, for a very understandable reason of a security risk. India and Pakistan have a famously well known rivalry that applies to all competitive aspects of life, and the competitiveness rears its head the most in cricket. Thus the chances of riots, attacks and any other unfortunate circumstance is certainly high.
This has led to the ICC coming to the conclusion of hosting India’s fixtures in the UAE. Which further means if India advance into the semi-finals, or even the final, the matches will be played in the UAE. Not only does this take away opportunities for much needed revenue and tourism in Pakistan, but also the significance of them hosting the competition, as India’s fears echo to the rest of the world.
Yet this is not my grievance with the BCCI and India. It is that once again they have used their position and power over other cricket boards, and even the ICC itself to get their way. It is no mystery that India is a majority stakeholder of cricket as a whole, and what the BCCI says goes.
Under the Indian thumb
The BCCI’s reach extends over the ICC to control even the most minute decisions. For example, during the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup which was played in West Indies and the USA, India were guaranteed to play their semi final fixture in Guyana, regardless of their rank in the previous round. This ‘privilege’ of sorts was not given to any other team that participated.
With India now playing all their matches in the UAE in the Champions Trophy, specifically in Dubai, they once again have the advantage of knowing their venue beforehand and can prepare accordingly ahead of any other participating nation.
In a similar vein to the current situation with the Champions Trophy, India had successfully protested their way out of playing matches in Pakistan during the 2023 Asia Cup. Pakistan was set to host the entire competition, however the Indian government refused to send the team.
This led to a hybrid model being adopted which saw Sri Lanka co-host the competition. Despite all other participating nations playing in Pakistan, India played all their games in Sri Lanka, including the final, which they won, essentially depriving Pakistan of the entire competition.
The BCCI and India does not reciprocate this sort of compromise, as Pakistan have been visiting India to play in multiple ICC events. Infamously however, for any fixtures between them where India host, Pakistani fans have it near to impossible to travel to India to watch the match due to strict visa policies.
Spreading control
The influence of the BCCI passes on to even domestic matters in other nations, as evidenced recently by the England Cricket Board (ECB). The 2025 English domestic season is set to clash with multiple T20 leagues such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The ECB plans to ban English players from participating in the PSL, stating the reason as to “safeguard the quality of the domestic game”.
Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive stated, “This policy gives clarity to players and professional counties around our approach to issuing No Objection Certificates.”
“It will enable us to strike the right balance between supporting players who want to take up opportunities to earn and gain experience, while also protecting the integrity of cricket globally, ensuring we don’t undermine our own ECB competitions, and managing the welfare of centrally contracted England players.”
The BCCI run, IPL, is however exempt from this policy, despite falling right in the middle of the domestic calendar. Mr. Gould and the ECB are yet to provide any public comment about the IPL’s exemption.
A small win for Pakistan
Pakistan and the PCB fortunately found a silver lining during their negotiations for the model of the Champions Trophy. They accepted the BCCI’s terms to have India’s fixtures on neutral ground but on the condition that Pakistan are to do the same when India host an ICC event.
The upcoming 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup and the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup are both set to be hosted by India, but Pakistan have refused to travel for these events and would also like their fixtures in neutral venues if India were to have their demands met for the Champions Trophy.
While India did cave in, and Pakistan got a small win from this situation, overall this is not a sustainable solution for the sport as a whole. India’s influence and contribution to cricket is beyond massive, and the sport would not have the following it does without them.
However, the BCCI must understand the power and responsibility they hold and use it accordingly for the betterment of the sport and not their personal gain. This show of strength and control is what’s truly harmful and can be what really damages the “integrity” of the game.
