Thank you.
I barely mentioned Pakistan in my post because I think Pakistan still has it better than some of the other countries. And I think Pakistan has the potential to become a more major player than it is now owing to the undeniable potential of an economy of 220 million, with a growing middle-class, where people are only interested in one sport. It may take time but atleast there is a potential for growth.
But some of the smaller nations have it really bad. Especially the associates who are unlikely to get the same shot now that teams like Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan got once upon a time to elevate themselves. Many like Nepal, PNG, Ireland are already under-resourced and don't have the ability to expand and grow without major ICC support.
I recognize that we live in a cold, heartless capitalist society where altruism has suddenly become an alien concept, but that doesn't mean that we should go on cheerleading the ICC and the Big 3 for doing something that is 'realistic' and 'best for business'. Sometimes you have to do things for the greater good, even if they don't personally benefit you in any way. Unfortunately this is not an idea that the fat cats running international cricket are bound to understand.
Perhaps the ICC is part of the problem, I can't think of a more spineless sporting body. The only times the ICC actually does something is in cases of match-fixing and illegal actions. They claim to set up the World Cups but in reality, the host nation bears the bulk of the work.
The issue is that even if Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other smaller nations stand against the ICC to hold them accountable, the likes of India, England, New Zealand, and Australia will never do the same.
ICC probably has some agreement with these big cricketing nations where it won't regulate how often they play with other nations, as long as these boards pay the big bucks to the ICC. That's my theory, and I'm not afraid to accept that it may be wrong, but it's also sad to see that there is a chance it might be right.
Sadly, the only thing which will actually save "international cricket", is if teams like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Afghanistan start performing against these Big 3 nations and win some silverware.
If you go back to 2017, when Pakistan beat India in that final, it was India who waited for the Asia Cup 2018 because they had to prove that it was a fluke win.
Apply that same logic that if Bangladesh beat Australia 2-1 in an ODI series, it will be Australia who will have a point to prove the next time these two sides meet.
But I doubt anything will happen, for teams like BD, SL, AFG, and Nepal, the Asia Cup used to be a good platform for them to get match experience in their own conditions and improve their cricket. Sadly, it has been postponed.
