Pakistan’s sudden U-turn on the threat of a boycott of the T20 World Cup clash against India can best be explained by three similes: the clever-kneed monkey, the foolish villager and the dyed-in-the-wool jackal.
Ironically, these cautionary tales of bluster, miscalculation and a sham Pakistan exposed have revealed it for what it is: a paper tiger.
Monkey And Wedge
In the Panchatantra there is a story about a monkey and a wedge. A curious monkey sees a log partially split by a woodcutter holding open a single wooden wedge.
“Let’s play with it,” he shouted. Ignoring the warnings of his peers, the monkey jumps into the gap and pulls the wedge out. The log immediately snaps shut, trapping him. When the monkey is drowning in pain, he realizes that he has no business interfering with the woodcutter’s work.
The Pakistan government’s decision to call off the boycott of the February 15 match against India is the wisdom of this dying monkey. By inserting itself into the metaphorical divide between India and Bangladesh, Islamabad attempted to demonstrate its regional influence. But when the heavy burden of commercial reality and ICC sanctions began to grind in, including the threat of losing a $35 million annual revenue share, the government realized its tail was about to be crushed. He quickly turned and ran away with his tail tucked between his legs. Tail saved, match resumes on February 15 in Colombo.
A foolish villager
Pakistan’s threat to boycott the match with India was couched in very high-sounding terms: a show of solidarity with Bangladesh and a protest against India’s dominance of the ICC.
It bore a resemblance to the story of the Foolish Villager of Lahore who, offended by the rising price of grain, took a solemn public oath to fast until the market changed its ways. He stood in the square and declared his sacrifice “worth the dignity of all”.
But the smell of a neighbor’s roast lamb wafted over the wall, and the sight of others feasting softened his resolve. By moonrise he was back at the market, claiming that he had decided to eat not out of hunger but out of a charitable desire to support the merchant’s livelihood.
That’s how fast the initial boycott of Pakistan was. But the reality of the payout and the risk of being the only team to face a points penalty proved too much. Islamabad broke its fast for 200 hours, disguising its hunger for revenue as “protecting the spirit of cricket”.
Blue jackal
We finally see the ghost of the blue jackal. After accidentally falling into a vat of indigo dye, the jackal returns to the forest and convinces the other animals that he is God’s appointed protector. He enjoys the spoils of his new “principle” status until his true colors begin to bleed during a severe storm.
The blue dye of the Pakistani government’s principled solidarity has washed away under the storm of ICC pressure. The moment they invoked the “force majeure” clause and were told it wouldn’t hold up in the broadcasters’ court, the pretense disappeared. The divine stance for Bangladesh was revealed as a common howl for financial survival.
The turnover is complete. A “principled” boycott has been swapped for a pragmatic retreat, proving that in the high-stakes world of global cricket, a stir doesn’t equal a balance sheet.
Paper tiger
Pakistan volte-face is a textbook study of performative diplomacy clashing with commercial gravity. The reversal reveals that the original policy was not so much a strategic shift as a short-term attempt to exploit the leverage that Pakistan simply does not have in the modern cricketing economy.
The speed of the turnaround undermines the credibility of Pakistan’s sports diplomacy. It signals to the ICC and global councils that Pakistan’s hardline stances are seasonal and highly sensitive to external pressure.
Islamabad is often derided for becoming a lapdog for greater powers for loans, aid and weapons. He will now scoff at letting the ICC and “friendly countries” dictate the pace of their national politics.
It is not clear what prompted Bangladesh to take Pakistan out for the game – perhaps its board was pampered with offers it could not resist.
But it is clear that Islamabad was under pressure from Colombo. Sri Lanka’s economic dependence on this fixture meant that Pakistan risked a diplomatic rift with an important regional partner.
Madari and his Jamura
The reaction in Pakistan is pure black comedy. Reacting to the decision, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said: “The whole nation stands behind the man in green. Great decision by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and great diplomacy by PCB chairman.”
?It sounds like a tamasha in the square where Madari (juggle) asks his Jamure (sidekick), “Jamure, kaisa diya?” (What was the performance?) and Jamura, despite the obvious mistake, clapped wildly and shouted, “Ustad, kamaal kar diya!” (Master, you have done miracles!)
So the boycott call was kamaal. And the turnaround is also kamaal.
However, the audience is not so easily fooled. They saw Madari drop the ball, trip over his own carpet, and then see his pajama string snap as he bowed.
“Grand Diplomacy” was nothing more than a hasty retreat from a self-inflicted crisis, and the “nation standing back” is actually a nation watching with a mixture of exhaustion and amusement as the government pretends its latest blunder was a masterstroke of strategy.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
February 10, 2026