Under the ‘Formation of Asian Cricket Council (ACC)’ section of its website, the very first sentence urgently needs an amendment considering the present political stand vis-à-vis cricket in India and Pakistan. The sentence states: “The ACC was formed in New Delhi on the 19th of September 1983, as the Asian Cricket Conference [renamed later]. The aims and objectives as stated in the original constitution were organising, developing and promoting the game of Cricket in Asia -- aims to which it has adhered ever since.”

The ACC must immediately amend it to read: “The aims and objectives as stated in the original constitution were organising, developing and promoting the game of Cricket in Asia, depending on the political situation in the subcontinent, particularly between India and Pakistan.” 

However, to be fair, the ACC is not to be blamed; it is the politicians of India and Pakistan.

The latest blow to the ACC’s stated objectives was dealt a few days ago when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided -- presumably unilaterally -- not to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the scheduled Asia Cup there next year. ACC, headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, had allotted the 2023 Asia Cup to Pakistan at its AGM only in March 2022.

Pakistan reacts

Unfortunately, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Rameez Raja says, Shah announced the decision of India to skip the Asia Cup and its relocation either with the ACC or with the PCB. "The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue. I am saying this as ACC president. We can't go there [Pakistan]; they can't come here. In the past also, the Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue," he told the media at the end of the BCCI’s AGM on October 18 in Mumbai.

Later, India's Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and new BCCI president Roger Binny said that the government would take the final decision on India’s participation in Pakistan, and also pointed out that the chances of that happening were slim.

A day after Shah’s press conference on October 19, a “surprised” and “disappointed” PCB issued a strongly worded statement, warning of a potential split in the “Asian and international cricketing communities”. “After having presided over the ACC meeting during which Pakistan was awarded the ACC Asia Cup with overwhelming support and response from the ACC Board Members, Mr Shah’s statement of shifting of the ACC Asia Cup has clearly been made unilaterally. This is contrary to the philosophy and spirit for which the ACC was formed in September 1983…,” it said.

“The overall impact of such statements have the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities, and can impact Pakistan’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle,” the PCB said. “The PCB has to date not received any official communication from the ACC on the statement of the ACC President. As such, the PCB has written to the Asian Cricket Council to convene an emergency meeting of its Board as soon as practically possible on this important and sensitive matter.”

This issue will be revived after the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup encounter on October 23 in Melbourne, for which Indian and Pakistani fans have converged in the Australian city from all parts of the world.

Infrequent bilateral series

Significantly, the two countries have not played a bilateral series for almost 10 years. The last bilateral exchange between the neighbours was in 2012-13, when the Pakistani team toured India for a T20 and One-day International series. India’s last bilateral visit to Pakistan was in early 2006.

However, they have been playing against each other in the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments. For the 2016 T20 World Cup, Pakistan visited India, though not before the usual speculation and debate over bilateral cricket. Pakistan has, however, not hosted any ICC tournament for many years, mainly due to security concerns, so India needing its government permission was not required. The PCB has been allotted the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy while the 2023 50-over ICC World Cup has been assigned to India.

This means that issue is unlikely to settle down soon. And politics between the two countries would again dominate cricket when, ideally, the sport’s administrators should be deciding the issue as to when and where teams would play. Unfortunately, the ICC can’t do much in this and concedes politicians become the decision-makers when it comes to India and Pakistan playing against each other. The reality is that the cricket boards of the two countries are also helpless in this regard.

The famous thaw of 2004

There are indications already that Indian politicians could raise the issue of "security concern" for its cricketers in denying permission to the team to travel across the border. However, Pakistan insists security is not a concern anymore, as the recent incident-free tours of several national teams, including England, suggest. It is thus clear that no one but politicians in India and Pakistan have the final say on when the two teams would play with each other, as was evident in 2004.

When there was no indication of resumption of the bilateral series at all, then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf suddenly, in 2004, decided to give the green signal to the boards. “Not just the game, win hearts too,” read the message written on a bat that Vajpayee presented to India captain Sourav Ganguly in New Delhi before the team’s departure.

That tour by India to Pakistan in early 2004 turned out to be an unqualified success. Pakistan gave around 8,000 visas to Indian fans to watch the matches played in Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, and Peshawar. Even the UN recognised its success and appointed the Indian and Pakistani teams “peace spokespersons”. 

"I believe that both national cricket teams are pioneers in the quest for peace and stability in South Asia and can serve as role models for other countries and regions around the world," said Adolf Ogi, UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sports for Development and Peace.

And when Pakistan visited India in 2005 for a reciprocal series, thousands of Pakistani fans visited India. The Punjab Cricket Association welcomed them with open arms on a cold evening and hosted a dinner for around 10,000 Pakistanis who had landed in Mohali to watch the first Test match. A majority of these fans stayed in the homes of the common people in Mohali and its neighbouring city Chandigarh.

Ball in politicians’ court

The India-Pakistan bilateral cricket needs an initiative like the one taken by the two heads of governments in 2004. And here the initiative should come from India, as Pakistan, by all accounts, is not opposed to playing the bilateral series with India. A ray of hope emerged on December 25, 2015, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Lahore and went to then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence to wish him his birthday (Sharif, incidentally, shares his birthday with Vajpayee). That event provided a lot of optimism all around, including for the resumption of the bilateral cricket series. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Cricket remains the binding force in the Indian subcontinent at all levels – from cricket fans to players. This was seen during the T20 World Cup held in the UAE in 2021 when Virat Kohli hugged Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan even after losing the match. Another heartwarming scene was witnessed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when the world came to know about the friendship between India’s javelin gold winner Neeraj Chopra and Pakistani javelin champion Arshad Nadeem.

In cricket, the India-Pakistan bilateral series is now the most intense rivalry in the world, watched by millions of avid fans around the world. Indian and Pakistani politicians can leverage the sport to even resolve many outstanding issues between the neighbouring countries, provided there is an honest will on either side and the intentions are well-meaning. And the bilateral series can resume - to the delight of millions of fans - only if a Vajpayee-Musharraf-like initiative is taken by those occupying the highest positions in the two countries.

(The author is a senior Indian sports writer. Views are personal. He can be contacted at sportingage@gmail.com)