There are many examples of sport transcending its status as a medium for leisure and entertainment but never in history have any of them come close to matching the power of cricket in India and its potential to affect global affairs.
India’s fraught relationship with Pakistan briefly flared up again with the two counties exchanging drone attacks on military targets; there were flames, gunshots, evacuations and other frightening signs of “conventional” warfare but cricket is, and will remain, one of India’s most resilient and reliable weapons to use against Pakistan.
Let’s backtrack a little. Everybody involved in cricket understands that income from bilateral tours by the Indian men’s team keeps the other Test-playing nations financially afloat. But income from International Cricket Council (ICC) global events also plays a critical role in the budget of every single one of the ICC’s other member countries.
The ICC distributes funding to over 100 nations with the smallest making do with less than $300,000 a year to run a bare-bones operation. The big nations receive tens of millions.
Now, bear in mind that just over 10% of the ICC’s entire income is derived from a single fixture, albeit one played three times in every four-year cycle at the two World Cups and the Champions Trophy. It is the only reason the Champions Trophy was revived. India versus Pakistan.
That fixture is the most “valuable” in all of sport and underwrites all of the others; it is the reason broadcasters are prepared to pay billions of dollars for ICC rights. So, losing it does not equate to losing 10% of the fee for the next rights cycle. Expert estimates suggest a 30% drop is a minimum and it could be as much as 50%.
No country in the world (except India) can survive that sort of decrease in ICC income without a radical restructuring of their domestic cricket and, while cuts at the top will be necessary, it’s at the bottom of the pyramid where most will be made. Huge reductions in subsidies for first-class teams and, as for development programmes in schools and assistance for clubs and disability cricket, forget it.
The rest of the cricket playing world’s reliance on India may be pitiful, but it also puts India in a position of such power that subservient and even obsequious behaviour from its dependents has now become normal. The current state of affairs will only enhance the situation — and inflame it.
When Pakistan announced last week that it would continue and complete the remaining eight games in its own franchise league, the Pakistan Super League, in Dubai, the Emirates Cricket Board discreetly revoked their invitation, having initially agreed to be hosts — at a lavish fee. It was abundantly clear that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would not tolerate its neighbours completing their tournament while the IPL was in limbo.
The Emirates Cricket Board is not alone. The England Cricket Board, the other ECB, is no less in the BCCI’s thrall. The Hundred has been desperate for “big name” overseas signings for the past three years but, of the 50+ Pakistani cricketers to enter this seasons auction, precisely none were signed by any of the eight teams.
Naturally there are no Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or its subsidiary, the SA20. The more the IPL influence spreads — Caribbean Premier League and Major League Cricket in the US — the more marginalised the Pakistan Cricket Board and its players will become.
It is only a matter of time before the hostility between India and Pakistan manifests itself in the shape of nations being forced, effectively, to take sides. Those which are a little too close to Pakistan will see bilateral series from India reduced in game time and frequency, if not cancelled. The Indian government and the BCCI, which is effectively a department, have the financial power and influence to almost completely marginalise their cross-border foe.
But it’s not hard to imagine the ensuant problems. India play a five-match Test series against England in June and July, the second of which is set for Edgbaston, in Birmingham, where 18% of the population has Pakistani heritage. The disenfranchisement of their nation and the belittling of their cricketers will no doubt lead to protests and possibly some threatening chanting but there is always the possibility of worse.
Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have honed their nationalistic jingoism over the years but so has Pakistan’s government. It may sound like a relief that hostilities remain verbal (sticks and stones and so on) but, sooner or later, someone takes up arms and someone else responds.
Cricket will become the petri-dish for a virus of hate instead of a balm for calm unless something changes, soon.
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