Pakistan cricket news: Will cricket be ever brought back home?
Pakistan cricket is going through some bitter times. The rough patch seems to get prolonged further, with one unfortunate incident topping another. During this ongoing tour of England, Pakistan is certainly feeling the pain of
losing the right to host international matches as they are marred with controversies and allegations, which has cost them many matches on the current tour.
They lost their best players in this menacing spot-fixing allegation, two of their best bowlers; Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and there test captain and opening batsman Salman Butt. The latest scandal being that the third one-day
international between Pakistan and England was also fixed by Pakistan, even though they had won. These unfortunate turn of events have really made the Pakistan team miss their home ground.
“It is a regrettable decision (but) our number one priority is to create certainty and...deliver a safe, secure and successful event.”
These are the very words that deprived Pakistan from their rights to ever host a tour for an indefinite period and stripped their hosting rights for the upcoming 2011 World Cup. The former ICC (International Cricket Council) president
David Morgan said these words after the unfortunate attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team which happened on 3rd http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 2009, injuring six of their players. Despite all the fiasco, the Sri Lankan team and Sri Lankan government empathized with Pakistan
on the occasion as they themselves are victims of terrorist attacks. Nonetheless, the ICC suspended all the international matches that were to be held in Pakistan, and claimed that in the near future Pakistan would not host any international matches. Besides
the suspension, many cricket teams had already declared their unwillingness to ever tour Pakistan, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 being one of them.
This was a huge shock for the cricket lovers in Pakistan and put the survival of cricket in the country at stake. The biggest disappointment for the Pakistani fans, PCB and the team management was the loss of hosting rights of
the 2011 World Cup which had the entire nation very elated; a nation that literally worships cricket.
Though some cricket experts maintained that it was a harsh decision taken by the ICC, many agreed that it was a just decision as safety should be kept a top priority in cricket. They were of the opinion that the players and even
the spectators should be given a safe environment, without any threats of terror attacks that can out the life of anyone at stake. Therefore, it is not worth taking the risk.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is tarnished with terrorism, where bomb blasts and suicide attacks kill more than a dozen people, not only in weeks, but in days and sometimes there is more than one blast in the country on a given day.
The country has become so resistant to these blasts, that it is sadly considered commonplace. Now, that international cricket seems to be its new target, cricket governing bodies ought to be even more vary of playing any matches there. So it is understandable
why ICC would take these measures.
The 16 matches that were to be played in Pakistan for the World Cup 2011 will now be co-hosted between three countries; http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
As the year 2011 inches closer, the pain is felt even more for the Pakistan fans, as the World Cup is being held so close but yet so far. All the cricket-playing Asian countries will be co-hosting the World Cup except http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755,
a country where cricket is considered a huge passion and an integral part of life.
More than the loss of the World Cup, the right of hosting international matches categorically has added to Pakistan’s vows.
Will Pakistan ever be able to regain its hosting rights? Even though PCB has tried to assure the ICC that the security will be beefed up if Pakistan were to host matches, whether it is the World Cup or regular matches, the ICC
seems stringent on their initial decision. The PCB was successful in persuading the ICC to let Pakistan host matches at neutral venues, but to convince ICC to let them host matches back home is clearly a shot in the dark.
There is no doubt that Pakistan is feeling isolated and alienated as a cricketing nation day by day. Hosting tournaments seem to be the only respite for these perpetual tourists, sadly that respite might not come any time soon.
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