4 min readUpdated: Feb 4, 2026 11:54 PM IST
With Pakistan announcing the boycott of the India match in the T20 World Cup due to the ouster of Bangladesh, the International Cricket Council (ICC) have a big situation in their hands. In case, the match does not go forward, there is expected to be a significant amount of financial losses involved.
Former England player Mark Butcher said that in case the match did not take place, it was going to be a disaster for India, the co-host of the T20 World Cup as well as the ICC due to the lucrative nature of the contest.
“Now Pakistan are in a situation, they are sort of a younger brother or a cousin of India and India pretty much gets its own way. It’s the most powerful and the wealthiest country in the world of cricket. And therefore, Pakistan basically have to suck it up. So when they had the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, you could see it coming from a mile off. That India were not going to go and play in Pakistan. So everything got rearranged and this is where my biggest problem comes in. When this stuff happens, it affects all of the other teams in the tournament because all of a sudden their program has to change, they have to fly out of the country to go and meet India in a place they want to play and everybody else has to fit in,” he said in Stick To Cricket podcast.
“For India, that’s a disaster.”
Why are Pakistan boycotting their World Cup game against India? pic.twitter.com/3iavuS2nxf
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“They’ve (Pakistan) turned around and said okay we still want to be involved in the tournament. However, we are not going to play against India because what you have done with Bangladesh. You had the opportunity to play our Champions League that should have been in Pakistan and Dubai. You have not afforded the Bangladesh the same courtesy. And therefore in sort of a brotherhood with our Muslim cousins, we are not gonna play against you. And for India, that’s a disaster. Or for ICC, it’s a disaster because of the size, financially of that fixture,” he added.
He also explained why the ICC always tended to put these two arch-rivals in the same group in ICC events.
“The public in both countries by and large actually, they are sort of brothers and sisters and they kind of get on fine. And the players between India and Pakistan are historically always gone fantastically as well. But above that, politically, not good, not a good look at all. So, bilaterally they don’t play against each other. However, in ICC tournaments, they are always placed in the same group. Why? because it is the most lucrative fixture in the world of cricket. And some say in the world of sports,” Butcher said.
“So the ICC have to make sure that India and Pakistan are in the same group, and they are every single time. It’s not a coincidence that is done by rote from the top. Which is a bizarre situation, right? Other teams have to qualify, they get put in groups, it comes out of the hat, all the rest of it. But those 2 teams are always in the same group,” he added.
