Anticipating sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Colombo on February 15, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might enforce the Force Majeure clause in their defence, The Indian Express has learnt.
The clause refers to unforeseeable circumstances that can prevent a contract from being fulfilled. And in their expected communication to the international body, sources said, the PCB will justify their stand by attaching their government’s social media post on February 1 that instructed them to boycott the India game.
Sources close to the fast-moving events around the tournament that starts Saturday said that by insisting on Force Majeure, Pakistan would claim that the situation was extraordinary and beyond their control. “This is their last resort since they don’t have any other reason to not play India,” an official said.
After the Pakistan government’s unprecedented intervention on Sunday, the ICC released a statement reminding the PCB of the potential consequences. While the world body didn’t specify sanctions, there has been talk that the Pakistan board might end up facing a hefty fine since their action would result in the broadcaster suffering a big loss in the high-value game. The ICC can also punish the PCB with a temporary ban on bilateral series, leading to international isolation.
Such a step would be unprecedented. In the 1996 World Cup when Australia and West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka, they were neither hit with any sanction nor was their revenue share cut. The story repeated itself during the 2003 World Cup, when England didn’t take the flight to Zimbabwe based on instructions from its government. During the same tournament, New Zealand didn’t make the trip to Nairobi, citing security concerns. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) wasn’t hit with any sanctions, either, when England refused to give visas to Zimbabwe players for the 2009 World T20.
However, since this is a first-of-a-kind situation where a team is refusing to take the field for reasons not specified, the interpretation of the Force Majeure clause remains to be seen. For starters, had the fixture been scheduled to take place in India, PCB would have had a strong case. However, with Colombo being a neutral venue, there is a bit of ambiguity. Moreover, since the PCB has committed to play their matches in Sri Lanka, the ICC can argue why an exception is made for the fixture against India alone.
Those in the Indian board say the PCB’s argument is weak. “When Pakistan had no problem playing India in the Under-19 World Cup on the same day their government put out the post to boycott the T20 World Cup game, this wouldn’t cut ice. Besides, when it comes to the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan government, there is not much difference. The Pakistan prime minister is the patron-in-chief of PCB and the board’s chief is a minister,” said a BCCI official.
“The Pakistan and Bangladesh boards are mixing politics with cricket. Despite the Indian government’s repeated statements ensuring security to their team, the Bangladesh team didn’t travel to India. Now, Pakistan too is being unreasonable. There has been an understanding that India and Pakistan will play at a neutral venue in ICC events. Boycotting the game is just mischief,” the official said.
The latest crisis in world cricket was triggered by the BCCI asking last month to eject Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman from its squad for the next , citing “recent developments” — believed to be a reference to the domestic turmoil across the border.
Subsequently, in a tit-for-tat move, Bangladesh asked the ICC to shift their T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns. With Bangladesh sticking to their stand despite the ICC refusing the request, they were replaced in the tournament by Scotland. Pakistan, meanwhile, expressed their support for Bangladesh and accused the ICC of adopting double standards — a position that led to the Pakistani government stepping in with instructions to boycott the India game.
