Pakistan’s decision to forfeit its World Cup match against India has created an unusual situation which makes the tournament experience difficult to handle. The two teams play matches which have political implications but the ICC playing rules state that teams must proceed with their games once they start playing. The tournament rules provide a direct path to follow through their established procedures. India will proceed to Colombo according to its schedule and will conduct its training activities as planned while participating in the pre-match press conference. The match will be officially forfeited if Pakistan refuses to compete in the game. India will receive two points from the match when Pakistan gets none and their net run rate will decrease.
The last section has important significance. The net run rate has determined which teams advance to the semi-finals during World Cup tournaments which have tightly contested group matches. A forfeit creates an outcome which harms a team because it creates an unfair advantage that lasts throughout the tournament.
Another possibility exists which brings different results. The cancellation of the fixture becomes official if India does not come to Colombo for the match. The two teams would share points in that situation. Pakistan currently has to meet all requirements before the game begins. The playing conditions state that the team which refuses to play loses all penalties according to the sports rules.
The Situation Exists Between Common And Rare
World Cup matches have seen teams forfeit their games throughout cricket history although such events occur infrequently. Australia and the West Indies did not compete in their group matches during the 1996 ODI World Cup because of a Colombo bomb explosion which gave Sri Lanka an automatic win with all match points. The England team withdrew from their 2003 match against Zimbabwe in Harare because of safety concerns about political instability while New Zealand refused to compete against Kenya in Nairobi because of security threats.
The ICC first shows its dedication to maintaining tournament integrity when they choose to withdraw teams from ICC events by their actual withdrawal.
Can Pakistan Invoke Force Majeure?
The court needs to decide whether Pakistan’s refusal should be treated as a force majeure situation. Force majeure describes events that people cannot predict or prevent which include natural disasters and acts of God and situations that involve extreme political unrest which make it impossible to participate in activities.
ICC sources believe that the ICC will find this argument difficult to support. Force majeure clauses receive limited interpretations because political objections do not qualify for execution until people demonstrate an actual danger to their safety or ability to work. The organization would not qualify for force majeure protection because it failed to reach that required standard.
Beyond the Scorecard
The ICC has established that the Pakistan Cricket Board will face severe penalties which include suspension if the board refuses to participate in the competition. The ICC already has established a practice of taking strong action against member boards which violate competition rules although this particular action will not take effect immediately.
The first thing that happens to India results in them gaining two points without needing to play. Pakistan needs to protect both their World Cup campaign and their standing in the ICC ecosystem.
The tournament’s most-watched match which was expected to become its most crucial non-match will be decided through regulations which provide no room for flexibility.