BCCI issues statement as ICC receives order to ban India-Pakistan matches
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The Asia Cup culminated on the 28th of September with the Indian team denying receiving the trophy at the hands of the ACC Chief Mohsin Naqvi. Michael Atherton had advised the ICC not to have more India-Pakistan games until the issue is resolved; however, the BCCI officials have objected to such claims.
The India vs Pakistan clash in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025 led to immense controversy. The 8-team tournament culminated on September 28, with the Indian team not receiving the trophy at the hands of ACC Chief Mohsin Naqvi.
India and Pakistan met three times in the tournament, including the group-stage game, the Super-4 contest, and the Asia Cup final. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side won all of these encounters with their one-sided dominance.
Michael Atherton advises ICC to suspend India-Pakistan matches
After the controversy over the trophy row and the sanctions on the players from both sides for having made controversial gestures as well as statements, which had to be escalated to the ICC panel, former English skipper Michael Atherton advised the International Cricket Council not to have any further India-Pakistan clashes till this issue is resolved.
"If cricket was once the vehicle for diplomacy, it is now, clearly, a proxy for broader tensions and for propaganda. There is little justification, in any case, for a serious sport to arrange tournament fixtures to suit its economic needs, and now that the rivalry is being exploited in other ways, there is even less justification for it," Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.
"For the next broadcast rights cycle, the fixture draw before ICC events should be transparent, and if the two teams do not meet every time, so be it," he further added.
BCCI officials react to Atherton's claims with stern resistance
After the sudden and unnecessary claim from the former English captain, the BCCI has reverted to his statements. Reacting to the claims made by Atherton, a BCCI official said that such comments are easy to make, but there is no easy solution to this issue.
'It's easy to talk about all this, but will sponsors and broadcasters agree to it? In today's situation, if any major team, not just India, withdraws from a tournament, it will be difficult to attract sponsors,' the BCCI official told Dainik Jagran.
Pakistan will have to clear their stance ahead of the next year's ICC T20 World Cup 2026
After having played India four times in the year 2025, first in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and then three times in the continental championship, the Asia Cup, the Pakistan team is all set to star in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where they might have to face India again.
India and Pakistan only meet during multilateral tournaments arranged by the ICC as well as the ACC. Hence, leaving bilaterals out of the quotient, it turns into a demand for the broadcasters to have a game scheduled between the two teams.
The PCB and the BCCI will have to arrive at a single stance ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, before the ICC announces its schedule. However, Pakistan will play their matches in Sri Lanka, since they have a deal not to play on each other's soil.
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BCCI ICC Michael Atherton India vs Pakistan India National Cricket Team Pakistan National Cricket Team Mohsin Naqvi
