Jan 25, 1999

Unless the spirit of the game prevails, the Test series is in jeopardy.

By Javed M Ansari in Delhi and Fareshteh Gati-Aslam in Karachi

They say politics is the art of the impossible. Some pundits feel the same about cricket. Every fan revels in the near-impossible, heart-stopping turnarounds that drives a subcontinent's mass fanaticism for the sport. But unfortunately political vagaries can easily pervade cricket -- and vice versa -- especially in India and Pakistan where one tends to lose track of the issue at stake: cricket or politics?

So it seemed as a chilly winter swept the northern plains, freezing people and their aspiration to watch the subcontinent's giants lock horns on Indian soil after 12 years. The political impact of the damage inflicted by Shiv Sena activists on Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla pitch on January 6 continued to haunt the proposed Pakistan tour scheduled to commence from January 21. With barely a week left, the question that everybody wanted answered was: Would the Wasim Akram-led team from Pakistan venture to play?

The confusion persisted even after a "recce" by top Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official Brigadier Saeed Ahmed Rafi to Delhi and Calcutta last week. After inspecting the Kotla wicket he said, "The pitch looks good and it would be perfect by the time the match gets underway on February 4." On January 9, Home Ministry officials briefed Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi about the security arrangements being made for the visiting team. Both Rafi and Qazi were said to be satisfied with them. Though before leaving Delhi for Calcutta to meet Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials, Rafi threw in a rider: "Everything looks fine but we want a tension-free atmosphere." A tall order for any Indo-Pak encounter.

Unfortunately for the millions of fans on either side of the divide, the odds seemed stacked against the tour for a variety of reasons. While an unrepentant Sena continued with its threats to disrupt the tour, its chief Balasaheb Thackeray refused to accede to the prime minister's request to revoke the ban imposed by him on the Pakistani team. "There is no way I will back down from my stand against allowing them to play here," said Thackeray. News from across the border added to the woes of cricket lovers. The PCB, its hand forced by last week's developments, decided to leave the final say to the Pakistan Government. Unable to resist the temptation of embarrassing the Indian Government, senior Pakistani ministers did their bit to add to the tour's growing uncertainty. "We don't want a situation in which our players are not allowed to concentrate on cricket," said Information Minister Mushahid Hussein.

Even the players on both sides appeared reluctant to play. Members of the Indian team away in New Zealand hinted to the board that a series filled with tension would not be the best way to prepare for the World Cup. In Pakistan, despite Akram's public endorsement of the tour, most senior players voiced their concern in private. "How can you expect us to perform at our best when all places except the hotel and the ground are out of bounds?" asked one of them. Pakistan coach Javed Miandad seemed to agree. "I don't blame them for feeling that way. No one likes to go and play in such conditions." He believes the massive security arrangements being mounted for the tour could be counter-productive. "I know from personal experience that the security can be stifling and can put off players," says Miandad.

While the players spoke out of genuine concern, some PCB officials played their own little games. Very simply it would serve many in Pakistan if the tour was called off. Key players involved in betting and match-fixing allegations are spending their time defending themselves in court rather than training for the series. Moreover the Pakistan team's morale is low after recent losses to Australia and Zimbabwe at home. A loss to India -- unpalatable at the best of times -- would create anger at home and could cost them their office. PCB Chairman Khalid Mahmood has made the right noises in public but has been lobbying hard for the cancellation of the tour. His reluctance is understandable as he has people like his predecessor Arif Abbasi breathing down his neck. "The tour must be cancelled as the PCB has done nothing to prepare the team after losing to Australia and Zimbabwe," says Abbasi.The pcb is split with a section vocal that the tour should go ahead.

Ironically, cricket tours in the subcontinent are characterised as much by the lavish hospitality and warm receptions as by the underlying tensions which often boil over. The two countries resumed cricket relations after 18 years in 1978. And though much of the tension and emotion that accompanied such encounters appear to have disappeared, tours between the two countries have not been without their share of problems. In 1978 Bishen Singh Bedi, incensed at the refusal of Pakistani umpires to no-ball Sarfaraz Nawaz for bowling bouncers at his batsmen in a one-day match, called his batsmen back to the pavilion. In 1986-87 Imran Khan's team walked off the field in the Ahmedabad Test after some of his fielders were pelted with stones. Two years later in the Karachi Test a spectator jumped over the fence and manhandled Indian skipper Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

This time the Government wants to leave nothing to chance. Initially caught napping by the Sena, the Government and the BCCI moved quickly to try and undo the damage. Working in tandem with the special cell set up under Special Secretary (Internal Security) Nikhil Kumar, the BCCI agreed to change the venue of the first Test from Delhi to Chennai. "We are determined to ensure that the tour goes off smoothly with not a strand of hair out of place," says Kumar. Advisories detailing security measures to be taken by the police in states hosting the matches have been despatched. Other steps include: round-the-clock vigil at the match venues, 24-hour police guard around the pitch, restricted entry to the stadiums, sealing the grounds 48 hours before the match, plainclothes spotters during the match and deployment of paramilitary and RAF units at all centres.

The board has been advised not to sell tickets to groups of more than four persons. The Pakistani team will be provided round-the-clock armed security and paramilitary escort. Special measures have been taken to sanitise the hotels where they stay and the routes to be taken by them. The Ferozeshah Kotla now resembles a fortress. The height of the barbed wire fencing on the boundary has been raised to 12 ft and the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association club housed on the premises has been ordered to close temporarily from January 18.

While a final decision on the tour has to come from Islamabad, and will in all probability be made only a day or two before the team is to leave for India, fans on both sides of the border can take solace from the unequivocal support extended by former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan and PCB Chief Executive Majid Khan. "The two countries must not give in to blackmail," says Imran. At stake is not just the proposed cricket tour but the entire gamut of sporting relations between the two countries. If the Sena's threat forces the cricket tour to be called off, it is bound to jeopardise the hockey series between the two countries slated to begin next month in India and encourage the lunatic fringe on the other side to follow suit. "If we run scared now, never again will the two countries be able to play each other," says Majid. Officialdom in both countries would do well to heed the PCB chief's words. Strangely, the Indian Government is reluctant to crack down on the Sena's disruptive tactics. The question is: will cricket prevail or politics?

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