ICC banned from scheduling India vs Pakistan matches after Asia Cup controversy

Former England captain Michael Atherton has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reconsider scheduling matches between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan, citing rising tensions and on-field controversies in the recent Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE.

The Asia Cup 2025 was full of controversial incidents that went far beyond cricket. Notably, India won the final by 5 wickets against Pakistan in Dubai last month. The drama started on September 14 when Indian players refused to shake hands with the Pakistan cricket team.

Michael Atherton reacts to the Asia Cup 2025 controversy

Tensions escalated during the Super 4s match, where Pakistani players Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan engaged in provocative gestures that ignited further controversy.

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The drama ended in the Asia Cup 2025 final with the winning side refusing to accept the trophy from Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Meanwhile, Michael Atherton has pointed out that India-Pakistan matches bring massive economic benefits, including huge broadcast revenues for the ICC, but said that the growing political and diplomatic tensions now make these fixtures a high-risk game.

Michael Atherton says India-Pakistan matches are becoming high-risk; urged ICC to reconsider fixtures

The former England captain has argued that the rarity and financial appeal of the India-Pakistan clashes cannot justify the escalating hostility between the archrivals, suggesting it may be time for the ICC to consider alternatives to prevent future conflicts on and off the field.

Michael Atherton wrote in his column for The Times: “Despite its scarcity (maybe, in part, because of its scarcity), it is a fixture that carries huge economic clout, one of the main reasons why the broadcast rights for ICC tournaments are worth so much—roughly $3 billion for the most recent rights cycle in 2023-27.

Due to the relative decline in the value of bilateral matches, ICC events have grown in frequency and importance, and so the India and Pakistan fixture is crucial to the balance sheets of those who would not otherwise have any skin in the game.”

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Michael Atherton slams ICC for exploiting India-Pakistan rivalry for money

Atherton criticized the ICC for continuing to schedule India-Pakistan matches purely for economic gain. He pointed out that the intense rivalry, once seen as a way to foster goodwill, is now being used as a stage for propaganda and tension by India and Pakistan.

The Englishman further explained, “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.”

The commentator has suggested that future ICC tournament schedules should be more transparent and that India and Pakistan should not automatically be made to face each other in every event. Atherton signed off by saying, “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.”

Notably, the recent ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan in Colombo was no less dramatic by any means. Players from both teams made sure to highlight the off-field tension and Asia Cup 2025 drama with their gestures during the match.