A Revsportz Comment
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans for the ongoing World Cup 2023. The PCB has also filed a complaint regarding inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the India vs Pakistan match held on 14 October 2023.”
This was a statement put out by the PCB on Tuesday evening. The key phrase in it is ‘inappropriate conduct’. Visas, whether for journalists or fans, are beyond the ICC’s purview, and inextricably linked to the fraught political relationship between the two countries. The behaviour of the crowd, however, is something that the ICC and the host board, the BCCI, are very much responsible for.
The PCB complaint doesn’t detail what was inappropriate, but you only have to skim through media coverage of the game to understand the issues – Babar Azam, the captain, being roundly booed at the toss, Muhammad Rizwan being greeted by chants of “Jai Sri Ram” on his way back to the pavilion, and paper planes finding their way on to the ground.
Let’s start with those aircraft that evaded Ahmedabad’s radar operators. Even if the paper was 300 GSM, a plane made of it is unlikely to do more than tickle the person it was thrown at. It’s the kind of stupid prank a kid would try, but who in their right minds would call it a threat to life or limb?
This rivalry has seen much worse, especially during an ODI in Karachi in September 1997. This is what the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack said about the incident.
“When Ganguly became the fifth Indian fielder to be hit, Tendulkar told referee Madugalle he could not risk his players any longer, and Madugalle agreed.”
Sourav Ganguly. Sachin Tendulkar. Ranjan Madugalle. Two of the all-time greats, and a hugely respected match referee. It’s probably fair to say that they wouldn’t have imagined granite stones and chunks of concrete flying on to the field of play, targeting Indian fielders in the deep.
One wrong doesn’t justify another and we know it. But paper planes don’t really compare, do they? Second, would PCB have said it had they won the match?
As for the chants, they were disturbing and inappropriate. Religion belongs in the privacy of one’s home, and in places of worship. It has absolutely no place in public life, and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a sporting field. Had the chant been “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, there wouldn’t have been a murmur of protest from anyone. But the words that greeted Rizwan excluded even those the supporters were rallying behind. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are Muslim, while Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah are Sikh. A chant that doesn’t embrace nearly a third of the Indian squad is best avoided.
But in the interest of fairness, we need to see the other side of the story as well. Rizwan is one of those players who has consistently worn his religion on his sleeve, both on the field and on his social media platforms. In an increasingly polarised world, such things are bound to rub many the wrong way.
It also cannot be denied that it was the Pakistan cricket team that introduced religion to the field of play. Shoaib Malik thanking the ‘Muslims of the world’ and then apologising for losing to India in the World T20 final of 2007 comes to mind. Wasn’t it disrespectful to nearly 200 million Indian Muslims, the vast majority of whom support India when they play? Just as a reminder- one of the key architects of that Indian win was Irfan Pathan, a proud Indian Muslim.
Two years ago, when Pakistan romped to a 10-wicket win over India in the T20 World Cup in Dubai, Waqar Younis spoke of how Rizwan offering namaz ‘in front of Hindus was special’. If that isn’t hate-mongering, what is? Which utopia do you live in when you expect such incidents to pass without a response?
This excessive religiosity didn’t go down well with everyone either. During the years when Bob Woolmer was coach, a stalwart of the side wasn’t shy to tell journalists of how dismayed he was with his teammates’ behaviour, and how Woolmer would often be driven to distraction by players offering prayers during an interval rather than discussing tactics and strategy.
If you let the genie out of the bottle – as the Pakistan cricket team did with religion more than two decades ago – then you lose control of it. What follows is often ugly. And as much as you criticise the behaviour of the Ahmedabad crowd, it cannot be viewed in isolation. If you don’t want to be singed by fires, stop playing with matches.
To make our position very clear- expression of religiosity does not have a place in the field of play. It is a private matter than should stay private. But a lot of these players are guilty of bringing it into the public domain. And fans, who follow them or even worship them, are only expected to follow suit. Pakistan will be better off focussing on the task at hand. Netherlands and Afghanistan have done them huge favours by throwing the tournament open. A good string of wins and they can make the semi-final and who knows play India again at the Eden Gardens. That would give them another chance at redemption. Rather than filing childish complaints, the PCB would be better off letting the players get on with the task at hand. To expect a 120,000 Indian crowd to be objective and non-partisan is like saying 9pm news on national television is a bed of roses. We are sure the PCB understands it well but is trying the well used ploy of trying to distract. Only it isn’t really working.