ARTICLE: Asia Cup in Doubt Again (F.Hashmey) - Sep 1993
Asia Cup In Doubt Again - Fawad Hashmey (Pakistani Cricketer,
Sept, 1993)
The Asia Cricket Cup, which is supposed to take place every two
years among the four sub-continental countries, has fallen victim
to mutual distrust and recrimination. Since the Asian Cricket
Conference (ACC) was founded in 1982-83, the competition has been
held only four times. The last time the tournament was organized
was in 1990-91 in India when India beat Sri Lanka to win the com-
petition.
Since then the issue had been hanging fine. Pakistan, surpris-
ingly, remains the only country which has so far failed to hold
the tournament, despite three attempts in the past. The Cup,
without its principal characters like India and Pakistan, is just
worthless and loses all competitiveness if either of them opts
out. This has happened frequently in the past.
When the tournament was staged in India, Pakistan withdrew on
political grounds while the same reason forced India out of the
competition when organized by Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the com-
petition has had one hundred per cent participation only on two
occasions. That was at the time of the inaugural tournament in
Sharjah in 1983-84 and then in Bangladesh in 1988-89.
After 1988, it had been Pakistan's turn to stage the show but
the BCCP has been unable to do so. The Board's attempts on the
past three occasions had been nullified by the last-minute with-
drawal of India from the competition primarily on the grounds
that the political situation in Pakistan posed security problems
for the Indian team.
The fifth edition of the Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakis-
tan in December this year and once again the question of India's
participation has raised doubts about the tournament. India's
inclusion has been tied with the projected tour of India by Pak-
istan for a short three-Test series in October. The Indians feel
that if their western neighbors cannot undertake the tour, there
is no point in visiting Pakistan for the Asia Cup.
Nevertheless, the BCCP has decided to go ahead with the Asia
Cup even if India does not turn up for the event. Shahid Rafi,
the BCCP secretary, in a recent interview stated that Pakistan
would go ahead with the competition regardless of the presence of
India. "It is our moral obligation to stage the event as every
member of the ACC has organized the competition but us. But this
time we are all set to host the event," he stated.
The absence of India will certainly devalue the event as a
Pakistan-India clash will be the highlight of the tournament and
attract the maximum number of spectators. The BCCP secretary
seems to ignore that important factor. He says the Board is wil-
ling to sustain that financial loss which according to him was
secondary as compared with the respect and reputation of the
country.
Actually the fate fo the tournament hinges on the permission by
the Government, specifically, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
whose clearance is necessary for Pakistan to first undertake the
tour of India. The Board has aleady writtenn to the Sports Min-
istry for forwarding the case to the MFA. It seems quite unlike-
ly that any decision in this regard could be taken before the Oc-
tober general elections.
The question of involving the Foreign Office appears quite baf-
fling. Whether the FO is consulted by the BCCP on tours other
than to India is a matter of conjecture. Such a scenario as a
matter of fact is unlikely, it is wise to suggest that the matter
should be sorted out between the two Boards rather than involving
the concerned Ministries in either country.
The BCCP is an independent body headed by no less a person than
the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Surely a person of his standing
must be having good contacts at the higher levels of Government.
Even the secretary is a person of no less importance. Both could
easily take up the issue with the FO at the personal level and
sort it out and remove the misgivings and apprehensions once and
for all.
Tackling the problem in a bureacratic way will in no way help
to resolve the issue. Better still, the two Boards should get
together and find a lasting solution. If the Indian Board
guarantees security of the Pakistani team, there is no reason why
the team should not go ahead with the tour.
In July, the Indian football team came to Lahore to take part
in the SAARC Gold Cup Tournament. Their visit hardly raised any
eyebrows and the event went off smoothly. Large crowds watched
the Indians in action but nothing unpleasant happened. Pakistan
and India need such kind of frequent sporting contacts to raise
the standard of their sports. This would also go a long way in
helping to diffuse the stormy political relations between the two
neighboring countries.
Contributed by Shash (sshah@*.acns.nwu.edu)
|