It was billed as a contest to stir the soul of cricket’s most storied rivalry: India Champions vs Pakistan Champions — legends of the past revisiting battles once fought in front of millions at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 20th July 2025.
Barely 18 hours before the match, the organisers of the WCL announced the game had been called off.
“We unintentionally caused discomfort to our Indian Cricket Legends, who have brought so much glory to the country… Hence, we have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” read the official statement.
But it reads less like an explanation and more like a carefully worded concession to Indian sensitivities. It exposes a clear imbalance in the treatment of the two sides. The statement says nothing of the Pakistani Legends, some of whom have also brought immense pride to their nation and global cricket, and who had travelled, trained, and committed to the game with the same intent and professionalism.
There is no mention of discomfort, concern, or fairness extended to the Pakistani contingent. No shared resolution. No apology for the disruption. Only a veiled surrender to the unease of one side — and it just so happens to be the side from the country whose commercial and political weight currently casts a long shadow over cricket.
Invisible hands, visible impact
The WCL, for all its pomp, is a privately run tournament — ECB-approved but unofficial, a nostalgic spectacle rather than a competitive battleground. Its founders include Harshit Tomar, an Indian rapper, and Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan. It operates outside the purview of the BCCI. And yet, in global cricket’s current landscape, formal jurisdiction is not a prerequisite for influence.
No directive was issued. No official embargo declared. But when Indian cricket icons feel “discomfort”, it appears the machinery of the sport quietly shifts course.
Signals beneath the surface
In isolation, the WCL episode might be dismissed as a logistical hiccup. But it has sharpened attention on the lead-up to the Asia Cup 2025.
Earlier this year, murmurs surfaced that India might withdraw from both the Men’s Asia Cup and the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup. These were quickly denied by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and further brushed aside by India’s sports minister, who insisted there were “no problems playing with Pakistan”.
Yet a pattern has emerged. India has expressed unease at sending representatives to the upcoming Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Annual General Meeting in Dhaka, citing geopolitical tensions with Bangladesh. In cricket, as in diplomacy, absence can speak volumes.
The ACC meeting, scheduled for 24th July, comes at a delicate time. Presided over by Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi, the forum is expected to finalise arrangements for the Asia Cup. But India, uncomfortable with the host venue, has reportedly threatened to disregard any resolutions passed in Dhaka.
The impasse is not without precedent. Earlier this year, India declined to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025, resulting in a compromise that saw Pakistan hosting matches on neutral ground. That uneasy solution now looms over the Asia Cup as well, where venue, presence, and participation risk becoming bargaining chips in a broader geopolitical contest.
Commercial weight of a rivalry
Few fixtures in sport carry the magnitude — emotional or financial — of India vs Pakistan. According to The Telegraph, their T20 World Cup encounter in New York in 2024 drew over 400 million viewers. The match alone accounted for nearly 10% of the ICC’s total broadcasting value.
In such a marketplace, the absence of the marquee clash isn’t just a disappointment. It’s a deficit. Smaller cricket boards across South Asia — from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan — depend heavily on the Asia Cup for visibility and financial sustenance. If India pulls out, the vacuum isn’t just competitive. It’s existential.
Shifting centres of power
What’s unfolding is more than a scheduling issue. It is a reflection of how cricket’s global governance is evolving — or, depending on the lens, eroding.
Jay Shah, once BCCI secretary and son of India’s home affairs minister, now sits at the helm of the ICC. His elevation as ICC chairman, following five years as BCCI secretary, marks a shift in the sport’s administrative axis.
As Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth observed last year, “2024 was the year cricket gave up any claim to being properly administered.” That verdict lingers, echoed in cancelled matches, silent power plays, and an ever-widening gulf between the sport’s ideals and its realities.
