The Indian government's decision to boycott the ICC Champions Trophy is logical and in national interest. It stems from backstabbing and breach of promise in the past by Pakistan.
By K S Tomar
An old phrase recorded in 1894 — “once bitten, twice shy” — holds true to India’s decision to boycott Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan from February 19, to March 9, 2025, which can be attributed to double-cross and betrayal of trust by Pakistan in reciprocation of sincere peace attempts made by late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee through bus ride from Amritsar to Lahore on February 19,1999.
It is a mere coincidence that the inauguration of the Champions Trophy will be held on the same day when Vajpayee undertook the bus journey to Lahore 26 years ago. Pakistan had given a big jolt to India in the form of Kargil war in July 1999, followed by hijacking of the Delhi-Kathmandu Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in the same year in December. The saga does not end here as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an identical initiative twice when he invited his then Pakistan counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, for his swearing in ceremony who attended it on May 26, 2014, in Delhi. Unfortunately, Pakistan gave a reward in the form of the January 2, 2016 attack on airbase at Pathankot which brought India’s peace-making efforts to nought.
Against this backdrop, Pakistan recently indulged in deceptive diplomacy and mischievous game plan of finalizing the championship trophy tour of eight participating cricket teams including India to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) cities viz Skardu, Hunza and Muzaffarabad. These are disputed territories for India, and hence, a bold decision was taken to boycott the championship.
Though the International Cricket Council (ICC) was quick to cancel the controversial tour, Pakistan cannot be absolved of the guilt of indulging in a well-calculated conspiracy. It was miscalled by the Shehbaz Sharif government that the Indian cricket team will also participate, which will help Pakistan in selling domestically and internationally a propaganda that India has accepted the legitimacy of PoK, as its team was part of the Champions Trophy tour. But India smelt the “hidden motive” behind this schedule and decided to boycott the trophy which forced ICC to change the schedule.
An in-depth analysis of Pakistan’s breach of trust by defense experts shows that the army was behind the Kargil war, Pathankot attack and even section of cities in PoK as successive governments in Pakistan, including Imran Khan's and now Sharif's, have been puppets of army generals who never want normalization of ties with India as they will lose relevance, and their authority to control so-called ‘elected governments’ will vanish.
In this complex scenario, there is no guarantee that there will be no terror attack on the Indian cricket team as the army finances terrorists moving freely and openly in Pakistan. In addition, Afghan-sponsored groups have become a big headache for the Pakistani army as well as the government. Even the national cricket team of Sri Lanka, a friendly neighbor to Pakistan, was attacked near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 3, 2009 by terrorists, injuring six of their players. All this leaves Pakistan — a country known for terror funding and sponsorship — with zero credibility in providing security to the Indian cricket team.
Analysts opine that India has given a rational solution to the entire fiasco which pertains to the selection of hybrid model by ICC. While rescheduling the calendar, India-related matches and knockout games can be played at venues like Dubai, which is laced with the right infrastructure and foolproof security arrangements, and rest of the seven teams can play in Pakistan.
If good sense prevails on Pakistan then it may agree to hybrid centres and take credit for organizing the championship trophy. But Pakistan threatened to boycott the trophy if venues were changed. The 2006 Champions Trophy was held amid peace talks and the 2016 T20 World Cup was held despite strained relations. India's former diplomats have got different opinions as India is a strong nation having deep rooted democracy, whereas Pakistan is predominantly ruled by an army, which is vehemently opposed to Pakistan’s proximity to India.
In a related issue, Pakistan’s allegation of having powerful influence on ICC does not match with reality as the international cricket organization is being headed by Greg Barclay of New Zealand, who can be hardly influenced. There are other developed nations like England, Australia etc, besides other members from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and South Africa, who cannot be dictated by India. Pakistan, however, is convinced that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) indirectly controls ICC due to its immense financial backing. Also, Jay Shah has been elected as new chairman of ICC who will take over from Barclay in December 2024. Shah has strongly objected to selection of cities for the Champions Trophy tour as it was against India’s national interest and integrity.
As per final assessment, the ball lies in the court of ICC, which must take a tough stand against Pakistan thereby forcing it to accept the proposal of hybrid model. This will save the Champions Trophy from getting spoiled owing to the inflated ego and illogical stand of the Pakistan government and its almost powerless cricket board.
(The writer is a strategic affairs analyst and political analyst based in Shimla)
