Pakistan boycotts India T20 clash: Is this the end of the ‘mother of all’ sports rivalries?

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday that Pakistan’s boycott of its match against India at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was ‘pretty disgraceful’ while condemning what he called ‘politicisation ' of sports in this way on both sides.

The Member of Parliament (MP) – an ardent cricket lover – was, like many other of his ilk, reacting to Pakistan’s decision to boycott the cricketing nation’s group-stage match against India at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled on 15 February at the R Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka. While Pakistan will play all other matches in the tournament, it has perhaps been asked by its government not to take the field against India as a political protest.

“Pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly,” Tharoor told reporters outside the Parliament on the sidelines of the Budget Session.

Tharoor reiterated his earlier opinion against Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman being denied his contract to play for Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL amid India’s worsening ties with Bangladesh

“It was most unfortunate. Intrusion of politics, I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction but it is also a reflection of the same and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh,” Tharoor said.

On 5 October 2025, the India-Pakistan group-stage match in the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup set a record for the most viewers tuning in for a women's international match: 28.4 million.

A 2023 CNN report found that an India-Pakistan cricket match is considered "five times bigger than the Super Bowl," with viewership potentially exceeding 500 million, driven by intense rivalry, massive fan bases, and high-stakes, infrequent matchups.

This spectacle, often surpassing NFL viewership, is rooted in geopolitical tensions and is deeply significant to over 1.6 billion people across the subcontinent, the CNN report had said.

In recent years, political tensions have meant that India and Pakistan mostly play each other only in ICC tournaments or Asia Cups, keeping the rivalry alive but limited. There have been no bilateral tournaments between the two nations since 2007.

The two teams have met 211 times, with Pakistan winning 88 and India 80. In Tests and ODIs, Pakistan has won more games than India, while India has won more T20Is.

In ICC World Cups, the two sides have met 16 times, with India winning 15. The tense relations between the two nations, stemming from bitter diplomacy and conflict, are as old as the partition of India in 1947.

The last full bilateral tour between the teams was Pakistan's tour of India in 2007, where both Test and ODI series were played. However, following the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, by Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, India suspended the planned 2009 series and all future engagements with Pakistan. The attack eventually led to detrimental consequences for both nations, in diplomacy and cricket.

Since then, as both teams have only met in ICC or ACC tournaments and India has emerged the winner most often, the rivalry in cricketing terms has faded somewhat, prompting Indian Captain Suryakumar Yadav to say it isn't a rivalry anymore.

The clash between the two teams has been marred by controversies in recent years. Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf and Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav were fined 30 per cent of their match fees for their on-field behaviour during the India vs Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup.

The Pakistani player was fined for provocative gestures, while his teammate Sahibzada Farhan was warned. The Indian skipper was penalised for dedicating the first win to the Indian armed forces.

The emotions often ran high in recent matches being held in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the following Operation Sindoor by India, leading to a four-day military conflict between the two nuclear neighbours.

The sport has been marred by a handshake row too. After the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan in November last year, India captain Suryakumar Yadav did not exchange pleasantries with his Pakistan counterpart, Salman Ali Agha. Even after India's 7-wicket win, Indian cricketers did not shake hands with their opposition.

"Despite being the strongest, richest body in the ICC, they are being boycotted today. India couldn't take a stance when it should have. I am sure that, for penalty, fine they will have to taken an IMF loan or the World Bank loan. But, they have taken stance. India was found wanting," she said.

While the International Cricket Council (ICC) has not yet announced its decision, it has issued a statement on Pakistan's decision.

The ICC said the council respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy. It, however, said this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan.

“The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of,” it added.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla has said that the board will speak to the ICC before making any comments.

“ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won't make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC,” Shukla, who is also the Congress MP, said.

Does the latest flashpoint mean that the India-Pakistan cricket matches, considered ‘mother of all’ sports rivalries, will cease to happen in future?

‘Spiralling out of control’

For now, Tharoor said, the whole thing seems to be spiralling out of control. The need, the Congress MP says, is to reach an understanding that sports, especially a sport like cricket, which means so much to so many people, should be a means of bringing us together, at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to continue.

"I honestly think this is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it - just say, let's call off this nonsense...You can't go on like this forever," the former Union Minister said.