Boycott averted, India and Pakistan set for T20 World Cup blockbuster
Two teams will clash in Colombo on Sunday, but as a recent sporting contest it has been remarkably one-sided
India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s ultimately empty threat to boycott nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.
With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbours lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.
India’s strained relations with another neighbour, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.
When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety concerns, the regional chessboard shifted.
Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A contest against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, jeopardising a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.
Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes talks and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament’s most sought-after contest.