Overview

• Michael Atherton urged the ICC to stop engineering India–Pakistan meetings at multi-team events and to introduce transparent, merit-based draws from the next rights cycle.
• He argued the rivalry is being used as a proxy for political signalling, noting the ICC’s 2023–27 broadcast cycle is valued at roughly $3 billion and that the teams have shared ICC groups in 11 straight events since 2013.
• Controversies at the Asia Cup 2025—including no-handshake gestures, provocative on-field actions, and India refusing the trophy from Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi—spilled into a Women’s World Cup ODI in Colombo.
• A BCCI official responded that reducing such fixtures is not a simple decision because sponsors and broadcasters must agree, indicating little appetite for immediate change.
• There has been no public move by the ICC or ACC to alter draw procedures before current contracts expire, even as calls for transparency grow across regional media.