BCCI Addresses Debate Over Continuing India–Pakistan Games in ICC Tournaments

Responding to Michael Atherton’s call to scrap India-Pakistan games in ICC events, a BCCI official has now come up with a solid argument. He stated that making such statements does not align with reality, as sponsors always push for India vs Pakistan matches to be included in ICC tournaments.

“It’s easy to talk about all this, but will sponsors and broadcasters agree to it? In today’s situation, if any major team, not just India, withdraws from a tournament, it will be difficult to attract sponsors,” said a BCCI official.

The recent handshake controversy between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 has raised eyebrows in the global cricket community. Many experts have questioned the sportsmanship of the Indian team that acted on the behest of the BCCI to avoid engagement with the Pakistan team.

Keeping in view such a bizarre act, Michael Atherton wrote an article in which he said that cricket is now being used only to spread propaganda.

“If cricket was once the vehicle for diplomacy, it is now, clearly, a proxy for broader tensions and for propaganda,” said Michael Atherton.

He further stated that due to such shameful incidents, India-Pakistan matches should not be held anymore in the ICC tournaments.

“For the next broadcast rights cycle, the fixture draw before ICC events should be transparent, and if the two teams do not meet every time, so be it,” said Michael Atherton.

India and Pakistan are expected to meet again in next year’s T20 World Cup. It would be interesting to see how both teams will interact or engage with each other in that tournament. Considering the controversy that happened during the Asia Cup 2025, things still look a bit murkier between the two teams that once enjoyed a great friendly rivalry with each other.