War, cricket and the ICC..!

War, cricket and the ICC..!

A refreshed write up of 3 March, 2012. May be it is still relevant now to a large extent…!

Promotion of the Cause of Peace Through Cricket : Why to punish Pakistan for fighting the world’s war on terror? Why to play into the hand of the terrorists?

It has been reported tonight (3 March, 2012) on TV that Bangladesh cricket team’s coach Stuart Law, who is of Australia origin, has declined to tour Pakistan with the Bangladesh cricket team, for it’s impending tour being scheduled next month in April. This news if correct, raises many questions with serious ramifications for the cricketing world.

However, before dwelling with the consequences of the above mentioned news, the following facts should also be kept in mind, to have a better prospect of the whole issue.

1. Newly appointed coach of Pakistan cricket team Dev Whatmore, is also a former Australian Test and international cricket player, who had no qualms ever for staying in Pakistan. In fact, he was one of the coaching candidates for the Pakistani cricket team, when another very famous former Australian international cricketer Lawson, was selected as coach for Pakistan. We understand that when he was removed to appoint Waqar Younis, Lawson never himself wanted to quit the job. And Lawson stayed in Pakistan (and also wanted to stay further), during much worse war conditions in Afghanistan and it’s spill over impact of very serious law and order conditions, then prevailing in Pakistan.

2. To say that Stuart Law is taking refuge under travel advisory of Australian government, is also a very weak argument, which does not hold water, as many Australian professionals are continuing to visit Pakistan and they even stay here for longer durations, without any fear of violence. As compared to this situation, we hear very regular news of violence against Asian migrants in Australia, but then again no body stays away from traveling there.

3a. One isolated incidence against the SriLankan cricket team, can’t be made an excuse to stop international cricket in Pakistan, forever. No foreign team ever stopped visiting SriLanka during it’s 25 years civil war, where matches continued even during bombings and explosions.

3b. Why no sportsmen or sports teams ever decided not to visit Germany after the Munich massacre attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany on 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team, who were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer.

3c. Why no sports teams ever boycotted sports events in America after the Centennial Olympic Park bombing of a terrorist bomb attack on the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia on July 27 during the 1996 Summer Olympics. The blast claimed 1 life and injured 111 people, while another person died of a heart attack.

3d. Also no one stopped visiting New York or USA after 9/11. Similarly, Pakistani players were once mugged in South Africa. One off incidents or accidents do happened in the past and will continue to happen in the future everywhere. So why to single out only Pakistan. People don’t stop air travels, just because airplanes do meet accidents every now and then.

4. Now, if today Bangladesh cricket board succumbs to the blackmail tactics of their coach or support staff, this matter will not stop here. Indiscipline and black mail if not nibbed in the bud, spreads like cancer. Tomorrow, other boards should be ready to face much worse pressures for even more ridiculous demands. This situation may even force the boards to consider putting new clauses of conditions in the agreements, to safe guard their national interests with iron clad wordings.

5. Above all, the planned tour of the Bangladesh cricket team shall be arranged after clearance of double security checks by the BD government and the the ICC, with security cover equal to the head of the state. Believe me, this security may not even be available to Stuart Law, neither in BD nor any where else in the world. And the planned tour is going to be over in just few days with only three matches, it will not last even few weeks.

6. Last but not the least, this tour will tremendously help the cause of cricket in this part of the world. It will also prove the resolve of the world that terrorism threat can’t hold for ransom, the game of international cricket in Pakistan. In fact, this epoch making tour will highly contribute to the cause of peace in the world. These people must not forget that Pakistan stood like a rock before the terrorists, for more than a decade, so that this menace does not spread to any other parts of the world. And many Australian troops also gave their lives in Afghanistan, for the same cause. So today if with the decision of an ill informed Australian, the terrorists gains strength, it will be a great betrayal with the cause, for which the Australian troops shed their blood.

7. So come on Bangladesh, let us give peace a chance through cricket and let the posterity record that Bangladesh was the first great nation which revived international cricket in Pakistan.

8. It is now a time of reckoning for the ICC to ponder very seriously, whether, it wants to continue playing into the hands of the terrorists or to prove that peace and cricket are synonymous with each other. ICC must advise all its members to immediately start visiting Pakistan to send a firm message that Cricket can not and shall not be ever defeated by the terrorism.

9. ICC must beware of the verdict of the posterity lest it may be recorded in the pages of the history that this sports organisation was responsible for knowingly playing into the hands of the terrorists.

Tags: My Views