India vs Pak: WCL match may be soft target, but what about Asia Cup?

Now that the WCL (World Championship of Legends) game between India and Pakistan at Birmingham on Sunday has been called off, it gives all parties a breather to decide on the fate of future cricket clashes between the two archrivals. However, the million-dollar question is: do we really want to arrive at a solution?

It’s out in the open that five of the former India stars: Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, and brothers Yusuf and Irfan Pathan pulled out of the contest at the last minute, possibly in deference to the growing social media outrage against playing Pakistan on the cricket pitch as emotions are still raw in the wake of the Pahalgam attack of 22 April.

The Pakistan team, led by Shahid Afridi, had no such inhibitions, though Afridi’s presence in that team further raised hackles as the former star allrounder has often been a vocal critic of India. The decision to pull out of the contentious game may earn the five Indians some brownie points, but the fact remains that such a move was made more feasible given the WCL's status as a 'masala tournament' devised by Bollywood star Ajay Devgan and a bunch of overseas promoters to make quick bucks for all concerned.

After all, names like Yuvraj Singh, Afridi, A.B. de Villiers or Chris Gayle still sell, but could such a decision have been taken as easily if it was the Asia Cup (due in September at the neutral venue of the UAE) or any of the ICC events?

The cancellation of the WCL game, in effect, is like a wake-up call for the Asia Cup, which seems untenable if its marquee game has to be scratched. The tentative dates for the Asia Cup are 5-21 September with six teams — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the UAE — in the fray. The tournament will follow a group stage and Super Fours format, with India and Pakistan likely to face off at least twice, first on 7 September and potentially again on 14 September.

The big question is: what happens to the tournament as the broadcasters, Sony Sports Network, have dished out a fortune for the bi-annual event, which has a chequered history anyway? On his YouTube channel, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt says: “Now don’t play in the World Cup…don’t play against us in any ICC tournament. Make this a promise. See, we understand that everything has its own place. But now that you are interlinking, don’t play against us at any level or tournament.”

A fair point, but this has been the biggest roadblock for the future of India-Pakistan cricket. Yes, political tensions are high and it’s impractical to keep sports and politics in watertight compartments, but sporting events between the two nations continue to happen. Just a few days back, the U16 volleyball teams played a semi-final at the Asian Championships and India is gearing up to host the Hockey Asia Cup, followed by the Junior World Cup. Pakistan is slated to participate as of now.

What adds to the confusion is that Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya has already clarified that India-Pakistan clashes will continue at multi-team events, but not bilateral ones. ‘’There is no problem playing Pakistan in international tournaments where multiple countries are involved,” Mandaviya said.

This may clear the decks for future ICC tournaments, given they are played in the 'hybrid' model as agreed upon until 2027. Well, isn’t the Asia Cup a multi-nation event as well under the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), formed by the late Jagmohan Dalmiya of India ?

There are no easy answers to this!