Anurag Thakur To ICC: India, Pakistan Shouldn't be Grouped Together in International Events

[Iconoclast]

Mumbai: With the bilateral relations deteriorating, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday decided that India will avoid playing Pakistan even in the multi-nation tournaments and asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) not to place the teams of the two countries in the same group in the future.

The issue was discussed on the sidelines of the Special General Meeting (SGM) here against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of Uri terror attack and the subsequent cross-LoC surgical strikes carried out by the Indian army.

"Keeping in mind that the government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments," BCCI president Anurag Thakur said.

If the two countries reach the semi-finals and have to clash at that time, it is another situation which can't be avoided, he added.
The next multi-nation tournament is the Champions Trophy to be held in the UK about seven months from now.

Considering the traditional rivalry between India and Pakistan, the ICC generally puts the two teams in the same group in multi-nation tournaments to attract more spectators.

India is already not playing a bilateral tournament against Pakistan because of the unabated terror attacks emanating from the neighbouring country.

After the Uri attacks, the situation has worsened.

http://sports.ndtv.com/news/india-pa...ricket-1468631

[Texan]

Problem is ICC was "fixing" groups by placing India Pak together. That should not happen. Ultimately ICC was influencing the result of the tournament by disregarding rules for placing teams in groups. 

[Iconoclast]

7 minutes ago, Texan said:

Problem is ICC was "fixing" groups by placing India Pak together. That should not happen. Ultimately ICC was influencing the result of the tournament by disregarding rules for placing teams in groups. 

Huh ... I thought there was some sort of formula based on rankings to decide groups.

 

Anyways this Anurang guy seems to be using these events to strengthen his position by playing the I'm a huge patriot card.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but is he not some sort of politician ?

 

He certainly is acting like one.

[Texan]

2 hours ago, Iconoclast said:

Huh ... I thought there was some sort of formula based on rankings to decide groups.

 

Anyways this Anurang guy seems to be using these events to strengthen his position by playing the I'm a huge patriot card.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but is he not some sort of politician ?

 

He certainly is acting like one.

Read this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2016/06/01/icc-admits-fixing-draws-to-put-india-and-pakistan-in-same-group/amp/

 

On Thakur, yes he is a politician and often does make political statements just like all politicians. 

 

[Adi_91]

No problems. Who cares if we play Pakistan or not. No need to hurt the sentiments of people who have lost their dear ones because of the rogue nation of Pakistan.

[Tibarn]

Good

[chewy]

this is silly a wishy washy statement by Thakur..either pull out of tournament if Pakistan is taking part...or boycott any match against Pak even if a knockout or final.

 

you might be criticised by some...but will earn respect for showing some balls.

[Vilander]

6 hours ago, chewy said:

this is silly a wishy washy statement by Thakur..either pull out of tournament if Pakistan is taking part...or boycott any match against Pak even if a knockout or final.

 

you might be criticised by some...but will earn respect for showing some balls.

? why pullout. Dont play them unless its a necessity. If its a knockout play them. Its straightforward.

 

Dont play them and help them make money, but if its a knockout play them and knock them out. 

[chewy]

3 hours ago, Vilander said:

? why pullout. Dont play them unless its a necessity. If its a knockout play them. Its straightforward.

 

Dont play them and help them make money, but if its a knockout play them and knock them out. 

Like I said, there will be some who will critical, but if one believes in his principals strongly then winning cricket matches are meaningless, and standing by those principals is more courageous and respectful.

 

history is littered with sporting boycotts, even a group of nations coming together to boycott an event.

even in recent World Cups, e.g., 2003 - England boycotted their match vs Zimbabwe on political grounds   

 

i personally would be happy for India to withdraw from CT or WC unless Pakistan is kicked out on political grounds. 

 

these statements by Thakur like "oh we will try to avoid playing them, but can't do anything if face them in kockouts" makes BCCI sound like a money grabber lacking in principals, if it weren't for GoI pressure this Thakur would have even allowed bilateral series to happen too

[Vilander]

On 10/2/2016 at 2:22 AM, chewy said:

Like I said, there will be some who will critical, but if one believes in his principals strongly then winning cricket matches are meaningless, and standing by those principals is more courageous and respectful.

 

history is littered with sporting boycotts, even a group of nations coming together to boycott an event.

even in recent World Cups, e.g., 2003 - England boycotted their match vs Zimbabwe on political grounds   

 

i personally would be happy for India to withdraw from CT or WC unless Pakistan is kicked out on political grounds. 

 

these statements by Thakur like "oh we will try to avoid playing them, but can't do anything if face them in kockouts" makes BCCI sound like a money grabber lacking in principals, if it weren't for GoI pressure this Thakur would have even allowed bilateral series to happen too

Its a clearly dominant strategy. Game theory, leave no quarter take everything from your adversary. except for the loss on the cricket field there is no loss for India, and loss for pak, its a good scenario.

[New guy]

On 10/2/2016 at 11:52 AM, chewy said:

Like I said, there will be some who will critical, but if one believes in his principals strongly then winning cricket matches are meaningless, and standing by those principals is more courageous and respectful.

 

history is littered with sporting boycotts, even a group of nations coming together to boycott an event.

even in recent World Cups, e.g., 2003 - England boycotted their match vs Zimbabwe on political grounds   

 

i personally would be happy for India to withdraw from CT or WC unless Pakistan is kicked out on political grounds. 

 

these statements by Thakur like "oh we will try to avoid playing them, but can't do anything if face them in kockouts" makes BCCI sound like a money grabber lacking in principals, if it weren't for GoI pressure this Thakur would have even allowed bilateral series to happen too

But if the principle is to put maximum damage on Pakistan without damaging oneself then this strategy is correct. India pulling out from a tournament will do long term damage to Indian cricket. None of the big sponsors will ever trust India again. Other countries who were hosting those tournaments and lose money will blame India. Its not just about winning few games

 

This is the difference between punching someone when you have gloves on to protect your fingers and cutting your nose to spite your face. 

Edited October 3, 2016 by New guy

[G_B_]

This should have happened regardless of border issues between the two countries.

 

It was like a rigged draw in which India v Pak would always happen and England v Aus would always happen.

 

I get the ICC wants to keep their finances in check etc. But you should really not rig something. Change the format of how things are played etc.