Sports
Clarity needed on resuming India-Pakistan cricket ties (Column: Just Sport)
By
By Veturi Srivatsa There has never been or never will be a right time in the foreseeable
future for India and Pakistan to play cricket bilaterally. It has always
been a political gambit and it is once again, the cacophonic
discussions on television channels notwithstanding.
The sound
bytes certainly convey that the Narendra Modi government, like the NDA
dispensation under Atal Behari Vajpayee, is keen on improving relations
with the neighbours and there is no better way to show the intent than
resuming bilateral cricket ties.
It is almost eight years since
the burgeoning cricket exchanges between the two countries snapped in
the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage by the militants from across the
border.
India cancelled Pakistan’s reciprocal tour to this
country and also “unofficially†banned Pakistani players from playing in
the Indian Premier League (IPL). Since then the contacts have mostly
been confined to International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, though
Pakistan did visit India in 2012-13 to play a three-match series of
One-Day Internationals (ODI).
What has changed in recent months
to prompt the Indian government to pipe down from a trident Pakistan
policy to agree for resumption of cricket ties between the two
countries? A raging debate is on and the jury is still not out.
It
all began with the government deciding in principle to resume cricket
relations with Pakistan and none other than Prime Minister Modi himself
was quoted as telling his party MPs about it.
Then Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan flew in from Dhaka to Kolkata
not knowing his disembarking city was Delhi for talks with Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya earlier
in the week.
Sharyar, a career diplomat and first cousin of Nawab
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, came to Delhi to tap the right sources by
meeting Union Finance Minister and an influential cricket leader Arun
Jaitley and board secretary Anurag Thakur, also a ruling party MP. All
insist that the talks were preliminary in nature and a lot of cobwebs
needed to be dusted off before getting down to serious discussions.
Most
cricketers barring those who play to the gallery are in agreement that
the two countries should resume playing cricket whereas the generals and
diplomats are ranged against them, screaming to remind the protagonists
about the happenings on the border.
The lone saner voice from
the loudmouthed TV studios comes from Ambassador Krishan Chander (KC)
Singh, who rightly questioned the very premise of playing the series
offshore. Though in Opposition, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor feels it is
naive to expect atmospherics to change the substance of the
relationships and wonders why cricket alone is being singled out.
KC
goes a step further, clearly questioning Arun Jaitley’s role in trying
to get cricket ties cracking. He has hit the nail on the head, saying
Sharyar may not know where Dawood is but former Pakistan captain Javed
Miandad should certainly be aware where his son’s father-in-law is.
Jaitley
was quick to take a step back. He told a pink daily that “it is for the
external affairs ministry to decide†on the tour and when asked whether
he is in favour of it, all he would say is that he “would not like to
comment since he does not deal with it".
Taking the cue from
Jaitley, others officials have also started weaving and ducking
questions on the tour. The home ministry washed its hands of the
uncomfortable issue, saying since the proposed series is going to be
played in the United Arab Emirates, it is for the ministry of external
affairs to deal with it!
Jaitley should have been reminded that
Shahryar on return home from India told the media that the Indian
Finance Minister “feels the green light will be given, it’s not given
yet but will be given in the next two months".
During the period,
the two boards will also have to thrash out the vexing TV rights issue.
The Pakistani broadcast rights are with Ten Sports, which is a part of
the Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group. The problem is the Essel Group is
preparing to float a global Twenty20 league as a rival to the IPL,
pumping in millions of dollars. The BCCI would not like to have anything
with Essel and Pakistan will have to sort it out by agreeing to play in
India or find another broadcaster for this particular tour if it is
played in the UAE.
In such a scenario, KP asks, how can the
Indian government engage in cricket diplomacy with a country which is
providing cover for the most wanted terrorist in this country?
That,
too, playing at an offshore venue which is a snakepit of the underworld
even if Pakistan seeks to justify on the grounds that its Indian
counterpart did not have any qualms in playing IPL matches there last
year.
It may be recalled that way back in 1992 the Indian board
had to call a Special General Meeting in Chennai to end the Sharjah
honeymoon after startling revelations as to how the underwood has
penetrated into the game. The general cry now is play wherever you want,
except in the Gulf.
For the record, the series could be of three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 games.
(Veturi Srivatsa is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at [email protected])