Karachi, the only big cricket centre in the province of Sindh, has always been the victim of step-motherly treatment by the game's controlling authority, headquartered at Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on one pretext or the other.
Even before the imposition of ad hoc system in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 1999, Karachi was always shabbily treated by those who were glued to their seats in the PCB since long.
But the ad hoc administrators have crossed all limits. The latest humiliation the city has faced is the dropping of the country's biggest city, having a well-equipped stadium, the National Stadium, the only property of the PCB, as a Test venue for the forthcoming Test series against England.
They very cleverly made the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) scapegoat, giving the impression that the ECB did not want to play a Test match in Karachi on security reasons.
Assuming that cricket is played only in Punjab, the PCB bosses always preferred Faisalabad and Multan over Karachi, the biggest nursery of the game in the country, although the Karachiites' hospitality has always been praised by the visiting teams.
As such, the ECB is being bitterly criticised for no fault of theirs. The fact is that the ECB security experts, who recently visited Pakistan, were satisfied with the security arrangements here.
However, the cat came out of the bag when PCB Operations Director Salim Altaf disclosed in an interview with a news agency that Karachi was never included the proposed itinerary of the England tour and Karachi was awarded only a One-Day International (ODI) match.
His disclosure was endorsed by no less a person than by Federal Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah.
Salim Altaf's confession indicates the biased attitude of the PCB ad hoc administrators towards Karachi, who have long ago decided not to award a Test match to Karachi on the pretext of law and order situation.
Cricket circles in Karachi are of the view that Pakistan's refusal not to play a Test match at Ahmedabad during the recent tour of India on security reasons was aimed at justifying their views about Karachi for forthcoming tour of England team.
HOPEFUL KARACHIITES:
Till the arrival of the ECB security team, cricket fans here were hopeful that Karachi, after a long time, will have an opportunity to host a Test match, but Salim Altaf shocked the Karachiites by saying that Karachi was never included in the proposed itinerary for the upcoming series.
He said the PCB had only proposed three Tests to be played in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad, while two one-dayers each in Lahore and Karachi and the fifth one in Rawalpindi.`
Further misleading the people, Salim Altaf said the ECB's refusal to play Test match in Karachi was acceptable, as Pakistan did not a play Test match in Ahmedabad during recent tour to India on the same grounds.
While comparing Karachi with Ahmedabad, Salim Altaf is reminded that Pakistan-India matches in Ahmedabad -- in case of Pakistan's victory -- has always resulted in Hindu-Muslim riots, but the situation in Karachi is quite different.
Here the atmosphere is quite conducive to stage mega events, especially when the Sindh government has assured the ECB security officials of foolproof security arrangements.
However, it was a sad story of the biased attitude of incompetent PCB officials, who are now trying to silence the angry voices in this sports-loving city by giving a lollypop that they are trying to convince the ECB officials to play two one-dayers at Karachi.
Moreover, former City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has sprinkled salt on the wounds of the cricket crazy people of the city by predicting that Karachi will be in the grip of violence during the forthcoming local bodies elections.
It is regretted that a responsible person like Naimatullah Khan has made such a statement when the ECB security team was in Karachi just to appease his political masters.
LONDON BLASTS:
Anyhow cricket circles here question the credibility of British security system and ask the ECB officials what would they say about their own foolproof and most modern security system in their capital city of London, which was rocked by a series of explosions.
Despite this tragic incident in the most civilised city of the world, England and Australia are busy playing NatWest One-day International (ODI) series. Moreover, the ongoing series in England has also exposed the double standard of Australia, who refused to visit Pakistan on security reasons. Had such an incident occurred in Pakistan, Australia would have refused to continue their tour.
Now one may question the PCB ad hoc administrators will they dare refuse to visit England early next year for a four-Test and One-day Internationals (ODIs) series on the same ground.
The answer is definitely no, as the non-elected PCB bosses have no guts to pay to the ECB in the same old coins.
HASIB AHSAN:
Reacting to the ECB's refusal, Pakistan's Test spinner and chief selector Hasib Ahsan said in a newspaper interview that a "bunch of nincompoops in the PCB have failed to convince the ECB officials on Karachi Test issue."
Lambasting the PCB ad hoc administrators, Hasib said: "The truth is that most of the PCB officials are there only to enjoy a lavish life."
He recalled that the situation in Karachi during 1987 England tour was uncertain because of violence and yet the tourists played a Test match without being harmed.
Now the situation in Karachi was far better and conducive for Test matches, he said, and added: "If Bangladesh and Sri Lanka can play Tests in Karachi, especially after the 9/11 tragic incident in the US, why cannot England, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies play here."
It was unfortunate the PCB officials, instead of asserting their prerogative, had compromised on the Karachi Test issue, said Hasib.
Pakistan's former captain and batting wizard Javed Miandad criticised the illogical stand of Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and now England on Karachi, and said it was beyond doubt that the PCB officials were incompetent to plead the Karachi Test case.
He was of the opinion that today it was Karachi and tomorrow it may be Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Multan, as no city in the world, including Pakistan, was safe from terrorist activities.
He said the PCB should have compelled England to play in Pakistan's biggest city, rather than endorsing their views about Karachi, which hurt the country's image.
KCCA SECRETARY'S VIEWS:
However, cricket officials in Karachi have vowed to protest the decision and hit out at the PCB for failing to argue the case for the country's largest city.
Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) Secretary Sirajul Islam Bukhari said: "The PCB has failed to plead the case of Karachi. Karachi is a safe place and in a population of 15 million one or two incidents are common. Colombo staged international matches when there was violence, so why not Karachi?" he asked. Bukhari said Karachi staged the 1996 World Cup successfully even though there was a curfew in some parts of the city.
Quoting 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid, which is grip of continued violence and insurgency, but hosted Olympic games and no country, especially the white nations, raised any objection and participated in the Olympic games. Bukhari said how long the PCB would accept dictations from teams like Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies.
All said and done the fact is that the PCB has no one with a stature to create a lobby in the International Cricket Council (ICC) or with various cricket boards of the world. Since there is no concept of accountability, the ad hoc administration is free to tackle such and other important issues in a whimsical way, which ultimately hurt the country's image.
Comments
Comments are closed.