The BCCI’s treatment of Bangladesh player Mustafizur Rahman who was banned from the IPL drew criticism from Sami-ul-Hasan Burney who served as ICC Head of Communications because he believed the Indian Board should have handled T20 World Cup conflicts through better diplomatic methods. The Kolkata Knight Riders released Rahman from his contract which resulted in Bangladesh being eliminated from the tournament that began on February 7 when they declined to compete in India because of security issues.
Pakistan has chosen to forfeit their upcoming match against India on February 15 as a demonstration of government directives which require them to do so.
Burney who served as Media Director for Pakistan Cricket Board after his ICC position said BCCI should have kept their dismissal announcement of Rahman under wraps without revealing his dismissal grounds.
Sami told PTI that public statements about Bangladesh player Mustifzur removal from the franchise through public announcements about his obligation to leave the team which must be removed from the
franchise.
The BCCI already possessed the information about the player release to KKR. The BCCI had multiple options to inform KKR about the player release. The BCCI could have chosen to inform KKR about the player release through private channels. This decision would have allowed KKR to release the player without any public knowledge of the situation which would have resulted in normal operations continuing.
People who make mistakes need to judge their track record first. The announcement made on January 3 produced its first result when it triggered its effects in the world.
Burney worked as a journalist for ‘The Dawn’ before spending more than ten years at ICC Dubai headquarters followed by his role as PCB Media Director until his retirement the previous year.
He explained how PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi thinks because he serves as Interior Minister and second highest official of Pakistan’s central government.
Burney believes that his former boss has viewed ICC’s decision to maintain Bangladesh’s cricket venues in India instead of moving them to Sri Lanka as a “shifting of goalposts” situation. “I refer back to November, 2024, when I was a part of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and I was with Mr Mohsin Naqvi, when that e-mail came in which the ICC said the BCCI has informed them that the Indian government has refused permission to send their team to Pakistan.
” Mr. Naqvi believes when a similar situation arose in January (with regards Bangladesh), the same principles were not applied, and that is where he is referring to the double standards.
“The PCB and Mr. Naqvi see this situation as a violation of established rules because they believe that the requirements for matches have changed between the two sides.” The government makes decisions based on more important matters which go beyond our current understanding of the situation according to him. The ICC has indicated that the PCB could face some punitive action which includes financial penalties and revenue loss that might reach millions of dollars but Burney believes that Pakistan must have been taken this decision keeping implications in mind.
“The decision-making process requires difficult decision-making. They must have spoken to a lot of people, sought the advice from the experts, looked at the legal side.
“The government of Pakistan must have conducted a detailed study before making that decision. The total financial impact of the match equals USD 250 million which includes all costs not limited to broadcaster expenses.
“The annual revenue of Pakistan amounts to USD 35.5 million which creates a substantial financial gap between the two amounts. “
Burney showed that Pakistan has managed to survive its economic problems which arose from their two-decade absence of playing India in bilateral matches.
“Pakistan has not played India in a bilateral series since 2007 because they have not hosted any matches despite traveling to India twice in 2007 and 2012-13 for white-ball cricket matches.
“They won two tournaments between 2009 and 2019 because they played their matches in the Middle East and the UAE while their home games remained unavailable to them. The two tournaments they won include the T20 World Cup in 2009 and 2017 Champions Trophy,” he said.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board needs to handle financial problems but they will succeed because their 20-year period of no matches against India proved their ability to endure challenges.