No Longer Untouchable

By Sanjay Tourani 5 March 2009 451 views 4 Comments

The past few years have given Pakistan cricket a lot of forgettable moments. But let’s be clear: March 3rd 2009 will go down in history as the darkest day in the history of Pakistan cricket. While visiting teams have always had concerns about touring Pakistan, this is the first time that they have been directly targeted. At about 8.40 am local time, a convoy carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in a bus was fired upon by 12 gunmen.

Thankfully, the bravery shown by the bus driver of the Sri Lankan Team, Mohammed Khalil, ensured that most of the players were able to get away unharmed, with 6 of them sustaining just minor injuries. Khalil managed to keep his cool amidst the pandemonium and continued to drive the bus even while it was being attacked. The test match has rightfully been abandoned and the Sri Lankan players have flown home so they can be with their families.

As always, questions are going to be asked in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Did the security guarantees made by the Pakistan Cricket Board really mean anything? And, more fundamentally, was the security actually up to scratch? Former Pakistan captain and politician Imran Khan has said that the security provided to the Sri Lankan team was 10 times lesser than that provided to government officials.¹ If there is any truth in what Imran Khan claims, then it is a damning indictment of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan government. How could they allow this to happen to such a high profile tour? This is an outrage, especially when you consider that the Sri Lankan team were there as replacements for the Indian team, who refused to tour in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. There is a depressing irony in the fact that the Sri Lankan team, which tried to help out Pakistan by being the first overseas team to tour the country in 14 months, would be the target.

We are still not aware as to who was behind the attacks. No group has claimed responsibility yet. In what is a further illustration of the shambolic security and intelligence, Pakistani forces are yet to trace the people responsible for the attack. No one is also quite sure about the motive behind the whole thing. From the outset, it seems that gaining publicity could have been one of purposes of the attack. Another could also have been to completely isolate Pakistan as a country and as a cricketing power.

To put it simply, cricket is currently in a state of shock. England Captain Andrew Strauss and Indian Captain Mahendra Dhoni have admitted to feeling vulnerable and scared.²

There is no doubt as to what the implications of the attack are going to be. No team is going to tour Pakistan in the near future. The New Zealand team has already canceled its tour which was scheduled for December. Pakistan’s role as co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup is also in doubt.³ Although no official decision has been made, it won’t come as a surprise to anyone if Pakistan is not allowed to host any of the matches. The team and its fans have to get used to playing at neutral venues like Abu Dhabi, Dubai or England.

But even more worrying than visiting teams refusing to tour Pakistan is the notion that countries would now have second thoughts about hosting Pakistan. Neighbors India are also going to feel the effects. Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises are going to have pay a lot more for cricket insurance and terror cover. Former England coach Duncan Fletcher wants English players to reconsider playing in the IPL on security grounds. P Chidambaram, the Union Home Minister of India, has also called on the IPL to postpone the forthcoming season due to the upcoming general elections, since security forces would be stretched too thin between the cricket matches and elections.⁴

The International Cricket Council(ICC) has never been able to handle sensitive issues affecting the game and has usually shied away from taking tough decisions. But this time, the ICC has no choice. It has to show the leadership that is expected from a governing body. The cricketing fraternity has to get behind Pakistan and help it get through this crisis. I hope that this once proud cricketing nation can recover from the numerous blunders commited by its government and cricket board and get back to the top, which is where it truly belongs.

Footnotes:
1 http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=17&art_id=79076&sid=22963925&con_type=1
2 http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/mar/04/andrew-strauss-frear-sri-lanka-bus-attack-ipl
3 http://content-www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/393259.html
4 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200903032187.htm

Photo Courtesy: shawdm

4 Comments »

Ponderous said:

“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
-Steven Weinberg

My sympathy goes out to those men who lost their lives.

[Reply]

VJ Reply:
March 5th, 2009 at 7:18 am

Weinberg’s concentration and what he is famous for is particle physics.

It takes circumstances and not religion for good people to do evil things.

The difference in the two conclusions comes from the difference in approaches; in the former case, we are more interested in “WHO did it” and in the latter, “WHY he/she did it”

[Reply]

# 5 March 2009 at 1:39 am

neon said:

Good article, Sanjay. When reading the accounts of players like Sangakkara, it really is amazing how they managed to escape mostly unscathed. I fear for the future of International Cricket. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are linked with terrorism, and Bangladesh still continues to be a minnow in world cricket. It’s always been a game played by a few countries and with terrorism playing havoc, the game’s going to suffer. You’re right, it’s time the ICC showed strong leadership, but for that they need the cooperation of different Cricket boards and hopefully we won’t see selfish administrators making a terrible situation worse.

[Reply]

# 5 March 2009 at 11:57 am