Mike Atherton's scathing take on India-Pakistan clash, brands it 'toxic, politicised' spectacle: 'Too big to fail'

Mike Atherton argued that the India-Pakistan game has become “too big to fail”, given how financially dependent international cricket has grown on the contest

Former England captain Michael Atherton has delivered a scathing assessment of the upcoming India versus Pakistan game, scheduled for February 15 at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. He branded the T20 World Cup clash a “toxic, politicised spectacle” that has drifted far from pure sport.

India will face Pakistan on February 15

Writing in his column for The Times, Atherton argued that the India-Pakistan fixture has become “too big to fail”, given how financially dependent international cricket has grown on the contest, even as it has lost much of its old charm and evolved into a vehicle for political posturing.

“All eyes on Colombo on Sunday, then. Money in modern cricket does not so much talk as scream, so it was always likely that a way would be found for the India v Pakistan game to take place. This is the fixture that has become too big to fail — the contest that allows for the functioning of the international cricket system as it stands — even though it has become an unattractive game in its present guise, as a proxy for political point-scoring,” he wrote.

Only days ago, Pakistan agreed to play the match after weeks of threatening a boycott on government advice, in protest against what it described as the ICC’s treatment of Bangladesh. The uncertainty had left broadcasters and the ICC staring at a potential revenue shortfall, with the match reportedly valued at USD 250 million.

“When Pakistan pulled out of the fixture a fortnight ago on government advice, sending a financial shiver down the spine of the cricketing fraternity, it highlighted two things: first, how politicised the game has become in the region and, second, how fragile the cricket economy is — disproportionately reliant on a single match that can be played only at global events on neutral soil between two countries whose relationship is toxic,” Atherton added.

After weeks of negotiations involving the ICC and back-channel diplomacy, the PCB eventually softened its stance and withdrew its decision to forfeit the match. Atherton suggested the episode was a reminder that cricket in the subcontinent is never just a game.

“Heads of governments were involved; history was revisited, friendships noted, obligations invoked. The ICC had a key role, too, given its reliance on this one match taking place. As has been often noted, the ICC is, in effect, an events company, organising annual global tournaments to keep franchise cricket at bay and prop up the balance sheets of its members. It has become a match then, to repeat, that is too big to fail,” he wrote.

Atherton admitted he found “greater satisfaction” in covering Nepal’s clash with Italy in Mumbai, where the football-frenzied European side secured their maiden T20 World Cup win in what he described as a seismic moment in their cricketing journey.

"On Thursday, at the magnificent Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, there was no subtext to the simple pleasure of the Italian supporters in the stands or on the faces of the Mosca brothers, Justin and Anthony, who took their team to their first-ever World Cup win. They shared an unbeaten opening partnership of 124 and the joy on their faces was unconstrained when the winning runs were hit. Both are grade cricketers from Sydney with Italian heritage: Justin is a PE teacher at a local school, Anthony a carpenter by trade who teaches woodwork at a juvenile detention centre. Both dreamt of being Paolo Maldini or Roberto Baggio in their youth but have ended up on a winning side in a cricket World Cup instead. The player of the match, the leg spinner Crishan Kalugamage, tosses pizzas for a living."