terrorizing cricket

the attack on the sri lankan cricketers has been a rude and rather unfortunate awakening experience for world cricket. in terms of concrete steps, till date the icc has done absolutely nothing. it was for fear of absolute embarrassment that the champions trophy was postponed (embarrassment that most teams wouldn't even have showed up). rather diplomatically the icc has stated that its up to visiting teams as to whether they want to tour the country, depending on advice from their countries. on several occasions pakistani cricketers and politicians stated that terrorists would probably not even think of attacking international cricketers. the fact that the cricketers that were attacked came from a country in the cub continent rubbishes this claim.

the bigger question at the moment is the upcoming world cup which is going to be hosted by pakistan india sri lanka and bangladesh. the possibility of matches being hosted in pakistan at the moment looks slim. on the other hand if the icc allows the cup to progress as scheduled, chances are high that most teams will refuse to travel to the country. the men who play this game are not going to put their lives on the line for the sake of a game, however patriotic they may be.

pakistans chances of hosting international matches or teams at the moment looks slim. no cricketer in his right mind would want to even travel to the war ravaged country. since the bid for the cup was a joint one, one wonders if it may have to be totally shifted out of the subcontinent. the bcci on the other hand is confident that it will carry on as planned, even if is just 3 countries that are hosting the world cup. considering the power that the bcci has, there is a possibility that things could move ahead as scheduled.

the fact that india hosted england successfully after the mumbai attack should stand them in good stead. the steps that were taken seemed foolish and over the top but as they say better safe than sorry. there were some cardinal mistakes that were made by the pakistani security authorities, which they should focus on instead of all the finger pointing all round. very similar to what happened after it was known the mumbai attackers were pakistani citizens.

the war of words between broad (the umpire) and butt (pcb chairman) will probably go on for sometime. thought the pakistanis claim that their own policemen were killed, fact of the matter is that the incident should never have even been allowed to happen. if the security was so good, as they claimed it, how did the attackers get so close to the players and officials. pakistan must accept responsibility for the attack. and the fat is that this attack has serious consequences for cricket and sport in the country.

its high time pakistan stands up and takes responsibility. as a cricketing nation they have suffered a great deal. the death of their coach bon woolmer, the entry and exit of a number of captains and coaches, loss of players to the icl and now this - it will probably result in a nomadic existence for cricketers in pakistan who may choose nomadic pastures such as the icl and other 20-20 leagues.

the world need pakistan cricket - known for their flamboyance and color. its time for the pakistani governement to stop pushing matters under the table and take responsibility.