Former International Cricket Council (ICC) head of communications Sami-ul-Hasan Burney has criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s handling of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s withdrawal from the Indian Premier League, saying the Indian board could have spared the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup the current turmoil if it had acted with more discretion.
Kolkata Knight Riders release Mustafizur at the behest of the BCCI set off a chain of events that eventually led to Bangladesh withdrawing from the tournament, which was scheduled to begin on 7 February, after refusing to play matches in India citing “security concerns”.
In further development, Pakistan chose to lose the match in the group stage against India on February 15 as directed by its government.
Burney, who later served as media director of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said the situation escalated due to public communication that could have been avoided.
“The matter could have been easily avoided if the cricket administrators had been more careful and avoided making public statements suggesting that the Bangladeshi player must be removed from the franchise,” Burney told the Press Trust of India.
“They didn’t have to announce it publicly. The franchise could have been notified privately, the player released and the problem wouldn’t have escalated,” he said.
“Sometimes a misjudgment leads to a statement with wider implications. The January 3rd announcement was the trigger,” Burney added.
Burney, a former Dawn journalist, spent more than a decade at the ICC’s Dubai headquarters before serving as the PCB’s media director until last year. He also offered insight into the thinking of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqviwho also holds the post of Pakistan’s interior minister.
According to Burney, Naqvi finds the ICC’s refusal to move Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka incompatible with his earlier stance.
Referring to events in November 2024, Burney said the ICC had informed the PCB that the Indian government had refused permission for the Indian team to travel to Pakistan.
“He believes the same principles were not applied when there was a similar situation in January involving Bangladesh. That’s where the concern of a double standard arises,” Burney said.
Asked if Bangladesh’s dispute with India was Pakistan’s problem, Burney said government decisions often involve broader considerations.
“We can agree or disagree, but when the government makes a decision, it looks at factors beyond what is immediately visible,” he said.
The ICC said the PCB could face punitive measures, including financial penalties and loss of millions of dollars in revenue. But Burney said Pakistan would assess the consequences before taking a decision.
“These are not easy decisions. Legal and professional advice would be taken,” he said, adding that the forfeiture of a single match in India could result in losses of up to US$250 million when all factors are considered.
“Pakistan’s annual revenue is around $35.5 million, so the difference is significant,” he noted.
Burney also pointed out that Pakistan had previously managed long-term financial problems, including a period of almost two decades without hosting India in bilateral cricket.
“From 2009 to 2019, they played domestic matches at sea, mainly in the United Arab Emirates, and still won major tournaments such as the 2009 T20 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy,” he said.
“So there will be financial implications, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has shown in the past that it can sustain such pressures.”
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
February 2, 2026