Woes of Pakistan cricket continue to pile up. After a shockingly below par performance in the Asia Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking at another crisis in the making - although thankfully not of their own making. Himachal Pardesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said that they will not provide security for the Pakistan India match to be held there on March 19 for no other reason than he doesn’t like Pakistan.
Seeking political parallels in sporting events is one thing, but letting political views - extreme ones at that - tarnish the sport to such an extent is unacceptable. Even before it has begun the World T20 has already stepped outside the bounds of sport and into politics, with tangible consequences. Failure of both countries to control this will be highly damaging - especially for India.
A lot has been said about the security situation in Pakistan when it comes to cricket, and for the most part, Pakistan and the PCB have not only recognized the problem, but have spent countless time and effort trying to fix it - the results coming slowly but surely. However the questions over security of Pakistani players playing in India is often brushed under the rug. Yet the problem exists; Pakistani players from several sports have had to be pulled out of India to avoid violence while others are warned not to come. Virbhadra Singh’s statements make the problem worse; where the threat used to come from fringe groups in the past, now the state has joined in on the action by willfully refusing to provide protection that it is bound to provide. The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar has assured that the problem will be sorted out, but the level of uncertainty is such that he has also advised Pakistani travlling supporters to hold off making travel plans.
India is fighting a niggling problem with extremism, one that extends to it’s government benches. Issues like these will only exasperate the divide. The BCCI and the ICC could not have predicted an opportunistic politician scoring rhetoric points, but it could have insured that the arrangements were made with all scenario’s in mind. The ICC may have turned a blind eye to this, but India is becoming a perilous place to international tournaments involving Pakistan - perhaps next time a ‘neutral venue’ would be more suitable.