Here’s my take on the recent cricketing fallout between the BCCI and by extension India, and Bangladesh and the BCB: There is a lesson for us, Bangladesh, in terms of policy making here too!
We all know why Fizz was released. It was politics and ideology, and nothing else. But officially they sited security issue. This was their unmaking. Now, of course BCB pushed back and rightly sited security reasons for their objections on going to India. They used BCCI’s own statement to defend their stand. Even if the team is secured, what about the fans? Will they be safe there? Cricket is not cricket without its fans!
Now here's the interesting part:
All the 5 countries of 5 eyes security alliance are playing in the tournament. The US, UK, Aus, NZ and Canada. Add to that some European nations as well. And they all take security very seriously. They may not be big nations in cricket, but nevertheless, the players are their citizens. Those boards had to be notified about BCB's situation. And because it's a security issue that BCB sited, standard procedures would be that those boards would have to notify their respective ministries and their security apparatus about the situation. This is because, in case something happened to any of their players, they would be liable to their governments. They wouldn’t take a chance. Yes, I know, it's probably going to be a single note on a file, nothing too much of a concern for them, but nevertheless, it is a note that portrays India as an unsafe place! In diplomacy, these things can go a long way!
Most of those western nations, in general, look at Bangladesh as a poor country that sometimes has floods and protests. Bangladesh isn't seen as a belligerent force to India or any other nation, as we never really attacked anyone and are not known in the world for terrorism, despite what the Indian media tries to portray. We actually have decent PR globally. On top of that, Bangladeshis are never in the news for major crimes in these western nations, except maybe illegal immigration issues. So, to have a country like Bangladesh call out security concerns in India will definitely have an impact. It’s one thing when Pakistan refuses to go to India or vice versa. The world already knows their dynamics. But it’s a different thing for the world to see a small nation like Bangladesh refusing to travel. It will only put India in a spot of bother.
I am not sure if India realises what the long-lasting impact is going to be. By the way India and the BCCI conducts itself, it is highly unlikely that they will move the matches to Sri Lanka. Whether India, and by extension ICC, moves the matches or not, there will still be a black mark on the books for India. There is no escaping it at this point. The only thing that can be done is damage control. India decided to introduce politics into sports. It must handle the consequences of it.
And this is why you don't take decisions on the basis of ideology, especially when it comes to matters like sports, something that is seen globally as free of politics. Given the current sentiment in Bangladesh, we should take this as a lesson for our future. It's easy to get carried away with the tide, but decisions made today can have long lasting impacts in the future. Rhetorics lead to the creation of public consent. Public consent leads to action. Action leads to consequences that we may not have control over. This is why we should have robust policies that transcends ideology. India based their policies on ideologies, and we clearly see how that has gotten them into a tangle not only in external affairs, but in sports too.
