Sporting integrity be damned: ICC damages own product by letting India play in Dubai

Hosting its first International Cricket Council (ICC) event in almost 30 years, the Pakistan team finished its Champions Trophy campaign on Thursday having played just one match in Pakistan.

Leaving aside the ocean of trouble that has befallen cricket and specifically the national team in that country — and also the fact the Champions Trophy is a frankly stupid event given current schedule challenges for the sport — that is a disgrace. 

Not that the ICC seems to care. Last year it showed that it could turn what is supposed to be a marquee tournament into a farce, by guaranteeing India a time and venue for its playoff game. Sporting integrity be damned. 

The long-term risk for all of this doesn’t concern the ICC, for they know that when it comes to India they will always have an enormous captive market, which desires Indian supremacy above all — and as a result, the money flows relentlessly.

Rohit Sharma’s team will play its semifinal on Tuesday in Dubai, where all of its matches have been hosted, because the BCCI deemed it too dangerous for India to travel to Pakistan. Seven other nations have been in Pakistan, coping with the stringent security measures when travelling to different cities and the limits on movement, with players restricted to the team hotels.

As for the matches, different conditions have been served up in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi — albeit only rain in the latter. The teams that have played in Pakistan had to select squads accordingly, knowing they will have to adjust from one venue to another, and also being cognisant of factors such as dew and how that can affect strategies and even the composition of starting teams. 

In Dubai, the surfaces have been slow and aid spin, so India — who only take a bus ride from their hotel to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium — just load their squad and team with spinners. Already tournament favourites, with the strongest side in the competition and the deepest resources (financial and personnel) of any country in the sport, India gets an extra helping hand. 

Logistically Lahore will be easier. You don’t have to get on an international flight and literally go to another country to play

—  Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen on where he’d prefer to play the semifinal

Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is missing the tournament to rehabilitate an ankle ailment, said India had an edge by playing all of their matches — group stages and playoffs — in Dubai.

“I think it's good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them [India] a huge advantage playing on the same ground,” Cummins told Yahoo in Australia. “They already look very strong and they've got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there.” 

Senior Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen agreed but said India also faced questions as a result. “The onus will be on them to use that advantage. In a sense it puts more pressure on them. Whoever plays them in the semi or potentially final, conditions will be foreign, [whereas] they [India] will be used to it, so the pressure is on them to get it right. They have all that knowledge,” he said.

But Van der Dussen also raised a pertinent point when asked where he’d prefer to play the semifinal: “Logistically Lahore will be easier. You don’t have to get on an international flight and literally go to another country to play.”

Success for SA, New Zealand or even Australia — despite its numerous titles — would certainly be sweet, given the obstacles they’d have to overcome, especially if it involves beating India.

For Pakistan, the way this competition has unfolded has been sad. On the field they haven't played their best cricket — and yes, a lot of the blame for that goes to the players,  but more so the administrators, who make the worst of SA’s sports bosses look like upstanding, sober professionals.

For the Pakistan public, the Champions Trophy provided a small step towards being embraced by the international cricket community after terrorism prevented teams from touring there for almost two decades. They didn’t get to share in the fervour of an India-Pakistan clash the way Indians did when their country hosted the World Cup in 2023. Pakistan was marginalised by India and the ICC, and that is deplorable. 

India doesn’t care — but it will be a tiny consolation for Pakistan if India do get knocked out in that semifinal and the tournament's final takes place in Lahore on Sunday next week, even if the host nation isn't involved.