da pinnacle： The situation in Kashmir being as volatile as ever, the BCCI’s standhas always been that it would like the ICC to make a provision forgovernment clearance in such matters
da casino： Partab Ramchand11-May-2002India and Pakistan had played 15 Tests in both countries between 1952and 1961, but after that, the two countries did not play a single Testfor more than 17 years, thanks to two wars and a generally hostileenvironment.
The situation in Kashmir being as volatile as ever, the BCCI’s standhas always been that it would like the ICC to make a provision forgovernment clearance in such matters. BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya,on his part, has had meetings with Sports Minister Uma Bharti andother government officials to discuss the vexed issue.
Thus, quite by accident, the Test between India and Pakistan at NewDelhi in February 1961 has achieved almost historic status. Given thepresent pessimistic outlook, the one-day international between the twocountries played during the Asia Cup at Dhaka in June 2000 could verywell attain the same status as that 1961 Test match.Despite hectic parleys at the cricket board level, and even governmentlevel, there was little indication all along to suggest that the twonational teams were any nearer to meeting on the cricket field. Theproblem was that while officials on both sides took one hesitant stepforward, the seemingly insurmountable obstacles governing the matterand the generally inflexible approach on both sides negated that step.And then tragic events, like Wednesday’s bomb blast in Karachi thatresulted in New Zealand hastily abandoning their tour, have made itclear that the situation is not as smooth as some cricketadministrators portray it. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hadpointed out earlier that it was concerned with the break in cricketties between the two countries, since it affected the InternationalCricket Council’s (ICC’s) 10-year programme. PCB chief Tauqir Zia wasquoted to have said that his board would not be able to endorse theICC programme unless India agreed to play Pakistan.But now New Zealand have packed their bags midway through the tour, adevelopment that closely followed the cancellation of the Australianteam’s visit to Zimbabwe on account of security concerns, as well asthe West IndiesPakistan series being played at the neutral venue ofSharjah instead of, as scheduled, in Pakistan. Indeed, besides dealinga death blow to the resumption of IndiaPakistan cricketing ties, thebomb blast at Karachi has also thrown into disarray the ICC’sambitious schedule .The ICC programme was drawn up before the earth-shattering events ofSeptember 11. Since then, security has been the watchword, and teamshave naturally been wary of traveling to places where there is eventhe slightest risk to life and limb. Commenting on the cancellation ofthe Australian tour, ICC President Malcolm Gray said at the time thatthe ICC was “saddened by events in Zimbabwe, which have caused thistour to be abandoned. The game has already lost a recent series inPakistan, and this latest disruption is regrettable from a cricketingperspective. Having said that, the safety and security of teams,officials and spectators must always remain the priority in judgingwhether a series or match should go ahead.”The safety of the team was also on the mind of Australian CricketBoard chairman Bob Merriman, who, in broad agreement with Gray, addedthat “the security of our team is our first priority, and travellingto Zimbabwe would have compromised their safety. This is a decisionthat the ACB has deliberated on deeply, and it is recognised that itwill impact most on the cricket community within Zimbabwe. This issomething that is deeply regretted. Nevertheless, the safety of theplayers and team management must take precedence.”The situation in Kashmir being as volatile as ever, the Board ofControl for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) stand has always been that itwould like the ICC to make a provision for government clearance insuch matters. BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, on his part, has hadmeetings with Sports Minister Uma Bharti and other governmentofficials to discuss the vexed issue. But nothing concrete emergedfrom these parleys, what with Bharti considered to be a hawk on theissue. The BCCI chief also discussed the matter a couple of months agoat the ICC Executive Board meeting at Cape Town, but an amicablesolution was far from forthcoming.At the Cape Town meeting, members took a strong view of India’scontinued refusal to play cricket against Pakistan, threatening severeaction if the cricket-specific policy was not changed. Some memberswanted harsh punishment imposed on the BCCI for repeatedly refusing toplay. According to Dalmiya, England and Wales Cricket Board ChairmanLord Ian MacLaurin raised the point at the meeting and wanted allother countries to sever cricketing ties with India. Apart fromEngland, New Zealand too had reportedly proposed a hefty financialpenalty on India. It is hoped that Wednesday’s tragic developmentswill make the ICC members see the issue in a different light.It is easy to say that politics and sports should not mix, butsometimes the two are inseparable. For example, the Executive Boardempowered ICC Chairman Malcolm Gray and Chief Executive Malcolm Speedto meet Indian officials, if need be, in an effort to break thedeadlock. But Gray apparently took the view that the ICC could notinterfere in government or political decisions.Under the circumstances, the BCCI impressed upon ICC members toincorporate the clause in the agreement so thatIndia was not subjected to monetary fines in case the governmentrefused permission. According to Dalmiya, all the countries agreed tothe Indian viewpoint, and the clause was added tothe draft agreement.As things stand, the IndiaPakistan cricketing scenario continues tobe murky. There are no indications of a thaw in the relations betweenthe two countries, and Wednesday’s bomb blast has made the resumptionof cricketing ties bleaker than ever.
