Published: Mar 11, 2016, 04:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 11, 2016, 05:35 PM (IST)
Tit-for-tat or not, just one loose statement from an Indian politician was enough to throw the entire cricket fraternity in a state of interminable dilemma: whether Pakistan will play the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 or not. Keep aside the never-ending dramas in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the pathetic state their national cricket team has landed itself in and the chances the team has in World T20 2016, recent developments suggest it is too much! In a group that has hulks in form of India, New Zealand and Australia — and maybe a dangerous Bangladesh — Pakistan have very little chance to advance to the semi-final. But the way Pakistan have been rating them highly by indulging in endless drama, I am sure even they would have surprised themselves in the process. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs Pakistan, ICC World T20 2016, Match 19 at Kolkata
***
My apologies, in advance, if I am outspoken in this piece. I was in New Delhi this Monday, to attend a day-long event organised by an Indian media house. It featured two Pakistan legends — Wasim Akram and Inzamam ul Haq — speaking on various issues including those that plague their cricket today. While Inzamam kept complaining on the lack of international cricket being the reason for decline in Pakistani cricket and quipped he cannot resolve the problem of terrorism alone, Akram went on to say, “Jisne apne life me bat nahi pakda wo hamari domestic cricket handle karta hai” (people who have never held a cricket bat in his life even is the current custodian of our domestic cricket). While both Wasim and Inzamam left no chance to attack those responsible for Pakistan’s poor state in international cricket, they hoped the ICC World T20 2016 clash against India would happen.
***
Pakistan cricket is undoubtedly in disarray. They have a captain who fires not even once a blue moon, and a team that does not know the direction it is headed for. They have two coaches who command tremendous respect, but on-field success deserts them. They rode hard on Australia and England’s inabilities on flat and spinning wickets in UAE, but that was that. In between came a series win in Sri Lanka. Both Australia and England had rammed them in the limited-overs series on the same tour, which shows how much Pakistani cricket had advanced.
What happened in late 2015 was unfortunate. Yes, Pakistan, it was. BCCI wanted a series against you, and I am sure cricketers were itching to have a go as well. Let us not speak about fans; they anyway over-hype even the most unpromising India-Pakistan contests, like the one that will happen. One of the most picturesque cricketing venues, Dharamsala, has already become victim of disgracing politics between the two nations, and who is surprised that the match has been awarded to Kolkata’s Eden Gardens?
But will the match take place at all? Will Pakistan travel to India? Will their fans get visas? Two hundred and fifty is definitely a big number. No one knows.
As I write this, Pakistan are waiting for their Prime Minister — PCB’s Patron-In-Chief — Nawaz Sharif to return from Saudi Arabia Friday evening and decide.
And Pakistan are supposed to play Bengal in a warm-up match Saturday.
Should I also mention here that ICC, the custodian of cricket, has time and again objected on the involvement of politicians in cricket? A politician will decide, after all, whether Pakistan’s over-delayed flight to India will take off or not.
When did Narendra Modi decide on any series that India had to take part in?
The bigger question is — all this, for what? Is India unsafe? Maybe yes. They have had several disturbing terror attacks in the past, but have an excellent record of hosting international cricket teams without any disturbance. There was one incident in Bengaluru in 2008 when a bomb exploded outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium. But that was it.
India has been going on hosting a plethora of international cricket stars in IPL apart from many bilateral series, since 2008; the inaugural edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) was not even organised in Pakistani mainland. No one has any idea whether Pakistan will host a match, and if yes, when.
Why, exactly, is India unsafe? Yes, there are politicians claiming there may not be adequate security. Yes, there may be Shiv Sena waiting for an ambush attack. But trust me, there is no real threat. Dharamsala has always been safe. So is Kolkata.
So why are Pakistan waiting for their Patron-In-Chief to return and say what we already anticipate? If Sharif and Modi’s relations are anything to go by, why will he get down from that plane and say ‘No, no, how can you even think of travelling to India?’
For Pakistanis, here is food for thought: the US president is the most powerful and the perhaps the most important man on the earth. Still, Barack Obama never travelled to Pakistan during his 8-year tenure. But he travelled to India. Twice. Even to Afghanistan, four times. But to Pakistan, never.
If a US president can travel to a country twice, I think a cricket team definitely can. You can come over, Pakistan. You will be taken care of.
Still, the Pakistani campaign to satisfy their ego efforts to ensure foolproof security in India has had no other than the Indian home minister saying “anyone coming to India will be provided security. There is no doubt about it.”
And Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister, tweeting, “We are very very happy to host #IND – #PAK #T20WorldCup match in #Kolkata. All are always welcome to our beautiful city.”
On Thursday afternoon, Harsha Bhogle wondered if we can talk cricket, now that the drama is over following a tweet from The Times of India that Pakistani cricket team has been allowed to travel to India. No Harsha, sadly, we will have to wait. I really do not know till when. Perhaps till the time the Patron-In-Chief’s airplane lands.
Amid all this, is the Pakistan cricket’s grand old man Shahryar Khan. He says Pakistani team ‘will go even on the eve of the match’. Have some mercy on him.
Let us know, Pakistan, when can we talk cricket. Because the rest, truly, has become tedious.
(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
