ICC to Ban Pakistan from Competing in the World Cup on India's Request? [Updated]

Cricket is a gentleman’s game! An honorable game, which is now being disrespected by India.

In the wake of Pulwama incident, the cross-border politics between India and Pakistan is also impacting the cricketing ties between the arch-rivals.

It was previously reported that Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh, had asked Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to boycott from playing Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup as a protest.

Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, also endorsed boycotting matches against Pakistan. However, he did add that it would hurt India’s chances of qualifying as forfeiting matches results in a points deduction.

Emerging Reports

The are reports that BCCI is set to write to ICC seeking a complete ban on Pakistan’s inclusion in the upcoming World Cup. This information was revealed by Rajdeep Sardesai, who is an anchor person and consulting editor at India Today group.

It has been reported that Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri have been asked to draft this letter addressed to the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar.

Why should we forfeit our matches, we want Pakistan out.

Regarding the matter, Sunil Gavaskar, a legendary Indian cricketer also voice his opinion and said:

They can try but it will not happen. It will not happen because the other member countries have to accept the proposal as well and I don’t see it happening. India can go ahead and try [to disqualify Pakistan] but it won’t happen.

The decision is not final as of yet as there are some internal conflicts. Some board members do not believe that politics should be dragged onto the cricket field while others disagree.

Can Pakistan Actually be Banned?

In simple words? No.

The ICC will only ban a nation from participating in rare and unique circumstances and India’s claims meet neither of them. If the members have qualified for a tournament then they are entitled to participate irrespective of whatever happens.

The official rule states:

According to Article 2.3 (H) of the ICC’s constitution, each member subject to meeting any relevant qualification criteria can participate in cricket events organized and sanction by the ICC.

The ICC chief Dave Richardson talked about the situation and said:

Our thoughts are with the people that were impacted by the incident. And we are monitoring the situation with our members including the BCCI and PCB. Certainly, there are no indications any of the matches, including the Pakistan-India match, will not be played as planned at the World Cup. But as I say we will continue to monitor the situation.