In an fiery conversation on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, former England captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton slammed the ICC as well as the BCCI for the drama surrounding the upcoming T20 World Cup, from Bangladesh\u2019s last-minute exit to the stand-off with Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Former England captain Nasser Hussain came down heavily on the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well the International Cricket Council for the drama surrounding India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the upcoming T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Speaking to former England teammate Mike Atherton<\/a> on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Hussain criticised India for refusing to shake hands with Pakistani players during the Asia Cup in September, indirectly accusing the Men in Blue of causing divide rather than bring two nations together through sport.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n \u201cThere has always been a link between sports and politics. But it just seems recently that the link, which used to be an exception, has become the norm. It\u2019s very depressing not to shake hands, not to lift the trophy. Cricket used to unite countries. Now it\u2019s pushing people apart,\u201d the cricketer-turned-commentator said on the podcast.<\/p>\n \u2018Treat Bangladesh the same as you treat Pakistan the same as you treat India\u2019<\/p>\n Hussain also slammed the ICC, currently led by ex-BCCI secretary Jay Shah, for \u201cIn the future, if India, a month before a tournament, say their government didn\u2019t want us to play in that country for a World Cup, would the ICC really be so firm, and said \u2018you know the rules bad luck, we\u2019re knocking you out\u2019?<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the only question. All sides ask for is consistency. You have to treat Bangladesh the same as you treat Pakistan the same as you treat India.<\/p>\n \u201cNow India fans will say \u2018cry more\u2019, \u2018we have the money\u2019, but with power comes responsibility. If you are constantly knocking Bangladesh or Pakistan, their cricket diminishes and hence those great games we\u2019ve seen in the past between India and Pakistan or India and Bangladesh become one-sided as they have done,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just Hussain who lashed out at the ICC for their preferential treatment towards India and accused the BCCI of being the big bully in international cricket. Atherton brought up the point of India similarly refusing to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy last year citing security threat to the Men in Blue, and ultimately playing all of their matches \u2013 including the final against New Zealand \u2013 in Dubai.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Nasser Hussain absolutely blasted the BCCI on Sky sport.<\/p>\n If India, a month before a tournament, had said that their government did not want them to play in a country for a World Cup, would the ICC have been so firm and said, \u2018You know the rules bad luck. \u2014 Abhishek Kumar (@Abhishek060722) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Hussain and Atherton are known for not holding back when it comes to criticising teams and star players, including and especially England and its Test captain Ben Stokes. However, questions can certainly be raised as far as their understanding of the Indian subcontinent and the recent events that has led to the drama surrounding the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy is concerned.<\/p>\n The crux of their discussion was the comparison between India refusing to play in Pakistan during last year\u2019s Champions Trophy and Bangladesh making a similar stance on traveling to India, which later led to Pakistan announcing their boycott of the marquee clash against the Men in Blue in Colombo on 15 February.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s security situation, after all, is by no means comparable to that of India. While teams such as Australia and New Zealand had refused to tour Pakistan in the early 2000s due to security concerns, it had become a no-go zone after terrorists opened fire on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.<\/p>\n While Zimbabwe did become the first international team to tour Pakistan in 2015, it took the Pakistan Cricket Board around a decade to convince other Full Members, including Sri Lanka and later Australia and England, to finally visit their country again.<\/p>\n The Indian team\u2019s security concerns thus could be treated more seriously than that of Bangladesh\u2019s, especially considering the fact that the ICC had not found any credible security threat to the Bangla Tigers in India from multiple independent security assessments.<\/p>\n Nasser Hussain is a very important voice in world cricket. Calls a spade a spade – but did England, under his captaincy, not pull out of their 2003 World Cup game against Zimbabwe on \u201cmoral grounds\u201d.. \u2014 Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) February 5, 2026<\/a>STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth remembering that Hussain was leading England when they had famously refused to travel to Zimbabwe during the 2003 ICC World Cup in protest against then Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe\u2019s policies. That decision was as politically motivated as Bangladesh and Pakistan\u2019s recent decisions pertaining to the T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n And unlike Bangladesh and Pakistan, who announced their boycotts on a last-minute basis, India had informed the ICC as well as the PCB months in advance, and ultimately fulfilled its cricketing commitments on the field while playing at a neutral venue.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that Pakistan are refusing to play India even when their demand of facing their arch-rivals at a neutral venue \u2013 Colombo in this case \u2013 has been fulfilled through a \u2018Hybrid Model\u2019 agreement between the BCCI and the PCB.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADHome<\/a>First Cricket<\/a>Explained: Why Hussain and Atherton’s explosive remarks on \u2018preferential\u2019 treatment to India and BCCI don’t hold waterEnd of Article
\nreplacing Bangladesh with Scotland<\/a> after the former refused to travel to India for the upcoming mega event, citing security concerns.<\/p>\n
we\u2019re knocking you out\u2019? pic.twitter.com\/DGv3EiQuUa<\/a><\/p>\n
The world view is always idealistic. Problem is for those in the hot seat\u2026<\/p>\n