Ehsan Mani says ICC cannot ban Pakistan if It boycotts India match

ISLAMABAD: Former International Cricket Council (ICC) president and former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani says that if Pakistan boycotts the match against India in the T20 World Cup, then no ban can be imposed on it.

Talking to Indian media, Ehsan Mani said that if the Pakistani team decides to follow the government’s instructions and not play the scheduled match against India, then the ICC will have no justification to take action against Pakistan. He said that in sports matters, the instructions of national governments are often taken into account and in such a case, it is not appropriate to punish any board or team.

Ehsan Mani gave an example and said that India also refused to play the 2025 Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan, following the instructions of its government. According to him, if no ban was imposed against India at that time, then imposing a ban on Pakistan now would be a double standard.

The former ICC president also criticized the role of the international cricket body on this occasion. He said that unfortunately, the ICC played the role of a silent spectator instead of addressing the entire issue seriously. He said that due to this silence of the ICC, the door to the inclusion of politics in the game remained open, the effects of which are now being revealed again and again.

Ehsan Mani further said that the ICC should have taken a timely and clear stance so that no team would face boycott or pressure on political grounds in the future. According to him, keeping the game away from politics is in the interest of world cricket.