Cricket-mad Pakistan’s nearly three-decade wait to host a major global championship ended on Wednesday, but the celebrations have been laced with disappointment because of the absence of a familiar rival: India.
Eight of the top teams in cricket’s 50-over format will compete for the Champions Trophy from Feb. 19 to March 9, but only seven of them will play in Pakistan. India will play its matches in the United Arab Emirates after refusing to travel to Pakistan.
The subtext-laden Pakistan-India cricket rivalry is one of the greatest and fiercest in sports. Hundreds of millions of people around the world tune in to every clash between the neighbors, whose cricket teams have become symbols of national identity.
In this tournament, that match will be played on Sunday in Dubai, as will the final on March 9 if India reaches it. The cricket authorities in both Pakistan and India have appeared satisfied with the compromise, but many fans in Pakistan were disappointed.
“It is frustrating that India refuses to play here,” said Muhammad Azam, 31, a software engineer who was meeting his friends at a tea stall in Karachi, the Pakistani city where the home team is playing New Zealand on Wednesday.
“We need to separate politics from sports and allow cricket fans from both countries to enjoy the game without barriers,” said Faiq Ali, 32, one of Azam’s friends.
Why won’t India play in Pakistan?
Since the partition of India at the end of British colonial rule in 1947, which created Pakistan as a homeland for the region’s Muslims, the two countries have fought several wars, including over the disputed territory of Kashmir, and engaged in a nuclear arms race.
India has also accused Pakistan of supporting militant groups that carry out terrorist attacks on its soil, which Pakistan denies.
There was often enough political room for the countries to host each other’s cricket teams. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka even co-hosted the World Cup in 1996. But separating the political tensions between Pakistan and India from cricket became almost impossible after 2008, when Pakistani militants crossed into India and attacked Mumbai, killing more than 160 people.
Without a substantial thaw in relations between their governments, India’s cricket team has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008. The countries have only played each other in global tournaments like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Pakistan played in India during these tournaments, including before a hostile crowd in 2023, but India has refused to play in Pakistan.
There has been no formal statement from the Indian cricket authorities about refusing to play the Champions Trophy on Pakistani soil. Rajeev Shukla, vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, suggested that the decision was based on security concerns.
Why is the Champions Trophy a big deal for Pakistan?
The growing threat from Islamist militants kept many countries’ teams away from Pakistan for years. After a militant attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the city of Lahore in 2009, international cricket matches in Pakistan dried up entirely. Pakistan’s team was forced to play its home matches in exile in the United Arab Emirates.
Improved security conditions years later slowly convinced major teams to start playing in Pakistan again, and 16 years after the attack in Lahore, the Champions Trophy is a chance for Pakistan to show it can host big tournaments again.
Players from countries that previously kept their teams away because of security fears — Australia, New Zealand and England — have arrived. Boulevards and buildings in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, the three host cities, are decorated with Champions Trophy banners.
Why was India allowed to play in Dubai?
India is the world’s biggest and most lucrative market for cricket, with broadcast deals worth billions of dollars. India’s cricket revenues dwarf those of other countries, making it impossible to hold international tournaments without it.
“What India has been able to do consistently over the past 20 years is bully countries into doing what it wants them to do,” Sharda Ugra, an Indian sportswriter who has covered cricket for decades, said of India’s financial power.
Without India, the broadcast deals for global tournaments organized by the International Cricket Council would be much smaller, putting the Indian cricket authorities in a strong position on matters such as playing in Pakistan.
Some Pakistani fans are looking on the bright side, with many getting the opportunity to watch a global tournament in person for the first time.
As for the future? “I have faith,” said Awais Shahid, 20, a Pakistani fan in Karachi. “One day, we will see an India-Pakistan series in Pakistan again. It has to happen.”
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