1983 was a year of upheaval in world cricket. India won the World Cup at Lord’s, which would change the game forever in the country. But bigger things had been happening in the boardroom.
It was a time when the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) ruled English cricket and dictated terms in the game’s global body, in conjunction with their antipodean brothers. NKP Salve, then BCCI president and Union minister, showed the ‘temerity’ of asking for two extra passes for the World Cup final from the ‘masters of the game’. His request was denied. Salve’s bruised ego led to a resolve – the World Cup had to be moved out of Old Blighty.
Over a meal, Salve met then Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, Air Marshal Nur Khan, and laid out his plans to bring the 1987 World Cup to the subcontinent. In 1984, England was out-voted at the ICC general body meeting and the World Cup, cricket for that matter, freed itself from the clutches of imperialism. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 edition of the tournament, introducing the concept of a hybrid model for a global cricket event.
Net Bowlers from Pakistan share their experience bowling to Rohit Virat Pant at the Indian Nets.
Their experiences of bowling to the Indian legends, even getting them out, and what advice they got from them. @shamik100 @rohitjuglan @wtvision_
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The World Cup has been mostly played in a hybrid model since, barring the 2019 edition in England followed by the 2023 event in India. From that perspective, an ICC tournament being played in a hybrid model doesn’t offer a novelty. But the Champions Trophy that gets underway on Wednesday throws up a difference.
Geopolitical standoffs have given this year’s tournament a different feel. Pakistan are the event hosts, but once it was decided that the Indian team wouldn’t be travelling to the other side of the border – the BCCI didn’t get the go-ahead from the Indian government due to security reasons – the tournament was always going to be played in a hybrid model. The PCB did a lot of grandstanding – an exercise in futility.
Accordingly, Pakistan is hosting 10 matches of the Champions Trophy, while India will play their games in Dubai.
Pakistan’s build-up for the tournament was chaotic, especially getting the venues ready on time. Several deadlines were missed but now they are celebrating the return of a global cricket event to their country for the first time since 1996. It’s a boom-or-bust moment for Pakistan, which will be decided over the next fortnight.
Here in Dubai, it’s all very organised and, also, very quiet. Brandings are few and far between and although the demand for tickets for the India-Pakistan game on February 23 has gone through the roof, the fervour would be a one-evening stand. Pakistan is still smarting over being clean bowled by India’s cricket economy, something that is evident from the fact that only a handful of correspondents from their country are coming to Dubai to cover the marquee clash between the arch-rivals.
A story is doing the rounds here that even the senior cricket correspondents in Pakistan weren’t granted approval by their respective bosses to cover the big game as a “mark of protest” – a response to India’s refusal to travel across the border. There’s only one set of losers in the whole thing – the Pakistani hacks are reportedly upset.
From a reporter’s point of view at ground zero, it gives a mixed feeling. The hybrid model notwithstanding, this is the first time when the majority of the high-profile fixtures are being played a thousand miles away.
Awais Ahmad, Wasim Akram and Shahid Shabbir, the three Pakistani fast bowlers who play local cricket in Dubai, were invited to bowl at the India nets on Monday. “Bowling to Rohit bhai (Sharma) and Virat bhai (Kohli) was like a dream come true for us,” Ahmad told RevSportz after the nets session. Akram revelled in the fact that he managed to breach Rishabh Pant’s defence once, while Shabbir spoke about getting some valuable advice on fast bowling from Mohammed Shami.
“Kitna accha hota agar India humari mulk pe jate, humlog josh manata (how nice it would have been if India travelled to Pakistan. We would have celebrated it big-time),” Ahmad lamented.
Why did they lose out on the opportunity? Pakistani people should ask the question to their political masters.
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