Pakistan’s Absence from India Match Raises Questions Over ICC Rules
With status quo likely to remain on Pakistan refusing to play the World Cup clash against India in Colombo on February 15, TimesofIndia.com understands that next 48 hours will play a crucial role in bringing some sort of movement.
While the Pakistan government has allowed its cricket team to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Cup, the boycott of just one game against India will be projected as breach of contract which PCB has co-signed.
" Pakistan boycott India match contract that itself is co-signee of. It says India and Pakistan commit to play in ICC events and take part in matches against each other at neutral venues. There is no force majeure clause mentioned in that agreement," explained the source aware of developments.
ICC terms participation clearly mentions that if any Full Member (FM) nation has concerns raised by the government, the PCB must take all reasonable steps to address those concerns. This ICC line is likely to be thrown when talks take place between ICC and PCB bosses in next few days. PCB might also be asked to produce their efforts to reach this conclusion.
Also, since Pakistan government had specifically mentioned one game against India, ICC could quiz them if this is the policy for all sports.
"Only one match has been specifically mentioned so there needs to clarity on whether Pakistan government is saying no to sporting activity with India," added source.
TimesofIndia.com understands that Pakistan can be sanctioned because its government interfering with working of a sporting body recognised by IOC. Never seen something like this happening in cricket before.
