Dear Najam Sethi, you have given an interview to an Indian YouTube channel wherein you have stated that there is no ICC sanction if there is security concern in a host country, which Pakistan has in India. And you have used this to say that Pakistan will not travel to India for the World Cup and want a hybrid model instead, where they can play their games in some other country.
First of all, for an Indian platform to allow you to peddle your twisted political agenda was pathetic. In fact, the channel did not ask you a single tough question, which allowed you to get away with this blackmail rhetoric.
Secondly, I hope you have heard of a tournament called the Indian Premier League (IPL), a franchise tournament whose following dwarfs that of any other. It is currently being played in India. The tournament’s marquee bowler over the past half-decade is a certain Rashid Khan, an Afghan Muslim who now has a cult following in our country.
There are two others – Moeen Ali and Sikandar Raza, both of whom have roots in your own country. Moeen now has a sizeable fan following among Chennai’s Whistle-Podu brigade. If we include coaches, other support staff and TV crews, there are more than 150 foreign nationals involved in the IPL. They have been criss-crossing India for the past month and a half. Not one has said a word about any ‘security concerns’.
Contrast that with present-day Pakistan, where the supporters of Imran Khan, a World Cup-winning captain and former Prime Minister, fear for his safety when he’s detained by the security forces. To hide behind politics is nothing new. But one would expect you to do it subtly and in a more sophisticated manner. You can certainly place one or more hybrid models in front of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). You are entitled to. But to then say that you won’t travel to India if these models are rejected, citing security concerns that don’t even exist, is plain abominable.
India has been consistent in its stand for years, that it is impossible to travel to Pakistan. The recent political instability, and the scenes of countrywide rioting after Imran was taken into custody, offers no reassurance to any potential tourist. While you will say that it is now May and that the Asia Cup is in September, the logical question is only whether things will get even worse. With elections forthcoming in your country, is there any guarantee that this turmoil will not escalate? Isn’t it prudent to retain your hosting rights and allow the tournament to be moved to Sri Lanka? Isn’t that the best way to do justice to your own team, which is playing some fantastic cricket at the moment?
Coming back to the issue of security concerns – India hosted the Hockey World Cup in Odisha two months ago. And it is now universally accepted that it was the best-organised World Cup ever. Also, earlier in the week, reports from Pakistan suggested that it was the government’s call, and not the PCB’s, whether or not to come to India for the World Cup. But today, you have gone on record saying that you won’t travel owing to ‘security concerns’. Whose call is this then? Yours? The PCB’s? The government’s?
Also Read: PCB suggests new hybrid model for Asia Cup
We in India have great respect for your players. And in the recent past, we have proved our ability to host you with maximum success and minimum alarms. Remember the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during the World T20 in 2016?
To suggest that there is no tournament without Pakistan is also over-egging it a bit, Mr. Sethi. The IPL has now been played without your players for over 14 years. Year on year, its popularity and value has only gone up. The broadcasters deem it the world’s most valuable sports property and have spent top dollar to acquire the rights. There is an IPL without Pakistan. Could there be no World Cup without you? And if there is, will not every country lose money in equal measure? Do you reckon there will be no backlash?
Let’s look at the other side of the story for a change. If Pakistan doesn’t play the World Cup, will it be great for the sport in your country? For Babar Azam and the boys? Will they feel happy about this call and will the sport benefit? Maybe politics trumps your cricketers’ ambitions.
Anyway, we in India have no problem in saying that we would welcome your team with open arms for the World Cup. There are no security concerns. We hope sense prevails, and that this silly brinkmanship that threatens to hurt every cricket-playing nation stops at the earliest.