Pahalgam attack: Sports diplomacy no longer an option?

The aftershocks of the is set to affect the sporting world outside cricket as well, if the developments of the past couple of days are any indication. The Indian government’s directive to Pakistani nationals to and vice versa from across the border have put a big question mark over the fate of the men’s Asia Cup hockey in Rajgir, Bihar in August, while sports fans on watching Olympic champion javelin ace Arshad Nadeem in the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru in May.

Ironically, cricket — a sport used as a bargaining chip for diplomacy between India and Pakistan in the past — is on status quo for now as cricket boards of both nations have recently agreed on a hybrid formula for the next three years. This means neither India nor Pakistan will play on each other’s soil for three major ICC tournaments — ICC Champions Trophy (played in February-March), Women’s World Cup in India in 2025 and the next Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026.   

The decision was reached after hectic backend diplomatic parleys before the after the BCCI refused to tour Pakistan owing to ‘safety concerns’, with their matches being eventually held in Dubai. An MoU is believed to have been signed to this effect, and there was hardly any surprise when Mohsin Naqvi, PCB chairman and interior minister, reiterated their stance after their women’s team qualified for the World T20 in dramatic fashion.

‘’The Pakistan women’s team will not go to India as per the agreement. India is the host, they will decide where to hold the matches,’’ Naqvi said after meeting the women’s squad at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday. The buzz is that the India-Pakistan match in the Women’s World Cup later this year could be played at a neutral venue such as Sri Lanka or UAE. Meanwhile, the Men’s Asia Cup 2025, which has India as the official hosts, and will be conducted in T20 format, is likely to shift to the preferred choice of UAE.

There is, however, a great deal of speculation over whether India will harden its stance further in trying to ‘avoid’ Pakistan in the league stages of future white-ball World Cups, with a section of the media reporting that BCCI will write to the global governing body ICC with a request to not club India with Pakistan in the group stages. The two countries, meanwhile, have not played any bilateral series since a one-off in 2012-13.

When contacted by National Herald, BCCI secretary Devojit Saikia said: ‘’I have heard of a few such reports but I am not aware of any such development.’’ It’s a no-brainer though that the idea of guaranteeing an India-Pakistan game by putting them together in the same group over the past decade was due to the insistence of broadcasters, and had turned out to be a money-spinner for the ICC.

India and Pakistan Davis Cup teams at the draw ceremony in Islamabad

Meanwhile, disciplines like hockey could take a major hit as Pakistan’s participation in the men’s Asia Cup — a 2026 FIH World Cup qualifier — to be held in Rajgir in Bihar, is now under a cloud. Earlier this month, Hockey India had confirmed that Pakistan would travel across the border for the continental championship along with South Korea, Malaysia, China and Japan for the event lasting from 29 August to 7 September.

Asked if the matches involving Pakistan will be played at a neutral venue or whether it will be permitted to compete, a Hockey India official told Indian Express that they would wait and watch for now. The Asia Cup assumes high significance as it is a World Cup qualifier, with the winner earning a direct spot at next year’s mega-event to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium.

Pakistan hockey team visits

Not just the Asia Cup, Pakistan’s under-23 team is also scheduled to compete in the FIH Junior World Cup, to be held in Chennai and Madurai towards the end of the year. In the last decade alone, Pakistan has made the trip across the border three times — for the 2014 Champions Trophy, 2018 World Cup and 2021 Junior World Cup.

Meanwhile in 2023, the Pakistan football team played the South Asian Championship in India, whereas India’s tennis players made the trip to Islamabad last year for the Davis Cup.