CRICKET was once celebrated as the gentleman’s game, a sport that thrived on fairness, humility and respect. Today, it stands dangerously close to losing that identity. The recent handshake controversy in the Asia Cup is more than a symbolic snub — it is a troubling sign of how politics, power and profit are bleeding into the game.

The shadow of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looms large over every corner of the cricketing world, and it has transformed financial dominance into political control. Decisions about hosting, scheduling, and governance often bend to Indian priorities. The Asia Cup incident has brought the politics of cricket into sharper focus. What should have been a moment of mutual respect became a display of hostility. By refusing the customary handshake, India weaponised a basic act of sportsmanship, and in doing so risked setting a precedent where cricket is no longer immune to political agendas.

The refusal of handshakes, the mani-pulation of international scheduling, and the dominance of Indian Premier League (IPL) money are together leaving Pakistan cricket marginalised in a game it has contributed to with world-class talent and historic victories.

The real casualty in all of this, however, is the game of cricket itself. The sport is built not just on runs and wickets, but on an unwritten code of fairness and respect. That code is now under threat.

When political gestures overshadow sporting ones, when one board’s financial power overshadows collective governance, and when tournaments prioritise profit over principle, cricket loses the very values that made it unique.

The controversies of 2025 are not isolated incidents. They are warning signs of a deeper crisis — one where the balance between politics and sports is tilting dangerously in favour of the former. If cricket is to protect its credibility, urgent reforms are needed. The International Cricket Council (ICC) must reclaim its independence, the game must be de-oliticised, and the spirit of sportsmanship must be placed above financial or political gain.

Otherwise, the gentleman’s game will become just another battlefield — where the richest and the most powerful would dictate the rules, and the true spirit of cricket would drown out in the noise.

Airaaf Ali
Sukkur

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2025