Politicizing the Gentleman's Game


Ever since its inception more than a century ago, cricket has been frequently referred to as the Gentleman’s game. A major reason behind this moniker is that it has always been played in good nature with the utmost importance being given to ‘the spirit of the game’. In the past, it even helped bridge off-field conflicts between nations. Zia-ul-Haq famously attended a cricket match in Jaipur, India when many posited that the two volatile nations were on the brink of war yet again in 1987. The reciprocal tours between Pakistan and India from 2004 onwards helped bring the two nations together again post the 1998 Kargil war. Both countries have consistently viewed each others’ cricketers in high regard both as sportspersons and also personalities. Shoaib Akhtar has an enduring fan following in India ever since his exploits on that fateful day in Kolkata back in 1999. Virat Kohli is a fan favourite of a lot of Pakistanis, myself included, no matter how “painful” his brilliant batting performances have been to watch against his arch-rivals, none more so than the lone battle he fought and won in Melbourne in 2022. Yet, what has transpired off-the-field in the last few years has been very disappointing to witness as an avid follower of such a beautiful sport. 

It all started with India’s refusal to tour Pakistan in 2025 for the Champions Trophy. It was declared well in advance that Pakistan would be the hosts of this event and foolproof security had been guaranteed to all teams, who had no objection, yet only India refused to tour on security and geo-political grounds just a few months in advance. Pakistan, for their part, had travelled to India in 2023 for the ODI World Cup and had also withstood a very hostile crowd in Ahmedabad in the marquee clash versus India. So it was fair to expect the same reciprocity from India. This refusal led to huge uncertainties about the event and I am sure caused a lot of stress not only to eager fans that were planning to attend the event but also to broadcasters that play an increasingly vital role in cricket nowadays thanks to the booming digital and television broadcast deals. The cricket governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) finally reached a compromise between the two nations; all matches involving India would be held in the UAE (Dubai) whereas all other matches would be held in Pakistan. 

This meant that the tournament did go on but obviously lost some of its luster. This also set a potentially problematic precedent; any country could ask its matches to be played elsewhere based on not entirely concrete safety or political concerns. In the past, such teams were simply forced to forfeit their points from those matches, for example England in the 2003 World cup. Add to this the dispiriting on-field antics of the India cricket team during last year’s Asia Cup, political interference has definitely muddied the waters and it seems that this politicization of the game is, unfortunately, here to stay. The latest such situation is the Bangladeshi cricket team’s refusal to travel to India for next month’s T-20 World Cup. The issue started when the India cricket board asked the India Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to replace one of their players, Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, from the upcoming edition owing to recently strained Muslim-Hindu relations in Bangladesh. This has led to greater friction between the two neighbours in addition to the seismic political events of last year in Bangladesh. It is now up to the ICC once again to resolve this latest crisis although judging by its partisan leadership, an objective unbiased solution may yet be a bridge too far.


(Originally written in January '26)

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