Former England Captain Michael Atherton has called for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to increase transparency in its tournament painting system, proposing the reduction of the Indian-Pakistan competition. His comments follow the controversy in 2025 Asian Cup.The new men’s Asian Championship is marked by politicians, influenced by terrorist attacks and border conflicts between the two countries. Both control Board for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are involved in this dispute.India and Pakistan are consistently placed in the same group at the ICC event for years. The process of selection of the ICC group is still unexplained, unlike any other major sports tournament.The Cricket Administrative Agency is reported to make sure the team shares the same group to secure at least one Indian-Pakistan match per tournament. The Asian Cup took this further, in its format designed to potentially create the three games in a month, as seen in the latest edition.The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is highly dependent on the revenue of this match to support the development of the regional root cricket, making it a complex issue to address.“Despite its shortcomings (perhaps, in part, because of its shortcomings) it is a major economic influence, one of the main reasons why broadcasting rights to the ICC tournament is worth about $ 3 billion for the latest (in) 2023-27 right cycle,” Atherton wrote in his column for Times. “Due to the relative decline in the value of bilateral matches, the ICC events have grown in frequency and interest, and India and Pakistan’s matches are important for their balance sheet that will not have skin in the game.““If cricket has been a vehicle for diplomacy, now, clearly, proxy for greater tension and for propaganda. There is little justification, in any case, for serious sports to organize tournament matches that are in line with economic and now in it. Time, so,” added Atherton.The match between India and Pakistan generated significant economic value, especially for the ICC tournament. The broadcasting right to these events gives a huge fee, with the current cycle (2023-27) worth about $ 3 billion.Recent events at the Asian Cup have highlighted the growing cricket and geopolitical intersection between these countries. The tournament saw various controversies and political statements from both sides.
