The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to push for Pakistan’s exclusion from the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, in England and Wales.

Cricket fans have been deprived of an India-Pakistan bilateral series since the last one played in 2012, due to the tense political climate between the two countries.

The BCCI has also restricted the access of Pakistani players to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for similar reasons and has repeatedly attempted to isolate Pakistan in the larger cricketing community.

The situation has only deteriorated since the Pulwama Attack in Kashmir on February 14, 2019.

Latest reports suggest that BCCI is set to raise the issue of excluding Pakistan from the World Cup, scheduled later in the year, in the ICC meeting set to take place on February 27, 2019.

The BCCI objects to the match scheduled between Pakistan and India in the group stages of the series, and would push for Pakistan being ousted from the tournament instead of conceding the match.

Unlikely as it is for this request to go through; BCCI’s stance on the subject is a worrying matter for cricket fans. It appears that the relations between the BCCI and PCB are only worsening with time, as BCCI uses its monetary leverage to politicize the sport.