Pakistan’s hopes of hosting the Champions trophy received a serious blow because of the recent bombings in Karachi and Islamabad. The recent statement made by a PCB official to demand compensation if the tournament is relocated elsewhere is indicative that ICC is already planning to take the hosting rights away from Pakistan due to security situation.
ICC has named Sri lanka as the replacement a country a country which is virtually going through a civil war since several decades according to an FBI REPORT the Srilankan civil war has taken the lives of more than 70,000 SriLankans on both sides, the Tamil tigers have carried out more terrorist attacks than Al- Qaeeda, Hamas and Taliban combined during the last five years hence making it the most dangerous terrorist group in the world, so if security is the real concern how Srilanka is safer than Pakistan? Are the bombs which explode in Srilanka any safer than the bombs in Pakistan.
South African cricket board anticipating this fact has offered to host the champions trophy if offered by the ICC a move which may have been put forth after consultation with the other cricket boards in the western block.
Another issue is that if the tournament is relocated then how PCB will be financially compensated?
The war on terror will continue for decades and being the frontline state fighting this war Pakistan will continue to be a victim of terrorist attacks for decades to come, does this mean that people in Pakistan will be deprived to watch International cricket/hockey on their home ground?
The civil war in Srilanka has been going on since the 80′s, the IRA carried out attacks in England for several decades nobody ever boycotted these countries.
PCB under the current management has been spineless to react against the efforts of the western block to isolate Pakistan in sports by declaring it unsafe they have to show some spine and retaliate.
Thanks Q,
I have added a new feature to subscribe the comments,I hope that’s what you were asking for.
Ankit,
Consider it done and thanks for stopping by.
Love the new look Wasim.
You should have an email option in the comments, i.e. I should reveive an email about comments posted on posts i have commented on… it helps keep track..
Hi,
I’ve blog rolled your site, and at the same time shall refer my readers to your posts, when there is anything i want them to read here.
Would you be interested in doing the same.
The address is
http://www.allpaddedup.com
Thanks,
Ankit
Hey Wasim,
I’ve blog rolled your site, and at the same time shall refer my readers to specific posts on your site, when there is anything i want them to read here.
Would you be interested in doing the same.
The address is
http://www.allpaddedup.com
Thanks,
Ankit
i think the major problem is that on a past few instances, there have been bombings near player’s hotels, and other such bombings when foreign players were in pakistan.
this has, probably made these foreign players a little scared which gives rise to prejudice.
asian countries had no problem going to pakistan for this year’s asia cup, because all countries in the sub continent go through similar turmoil.
Thanks SP,
This is one of the first themes I used for the site, I changed it later on.
If Champions trophy is moved from Pakistan it will set the precedent.
first of all congrats for the new look…its simply rocking maan…
if CT is not held in pak it will be almost end of road for pak as far as multi-nation tournaments are concerned…other teams too will take clue and will stop touring pak…
its really pity…for cricket as well as pak…coz while terrorism is spread all over world only pak is singled out for convenience…
2005 ashes series saw bomb blast not far away from ground bit not a session was aborted leave alone tour…recently same happened in jaipur…and no body even blinked…
if other countries can play is safely here…as asia cup has shown then i dont see any reasons why they cant…
its high time ICC take firm decision right away and dispel any doubts that its only PAK who will be hosting the tourno and fine those countries heavily who decide not to turn up…
Aamir Sohail who is renowned for his outspokenness said in a statement today that Musharraf, who is also patron of the PCB, should be more proactive. “It is the president’s duty to speak to individual countries and convince them to come over and play in Pakistan,” Sohail told Cricinfo.
“What is happening in the country is basically the result of Pakistan leading this war against terror,” Sohail said. “We are paying for fighting it. Countries such as Australia and England are our allies in this war on terror, yet they are not supporting us here. Are we real allies or are we just being used?”
Earlier in the year, Australia pulled out of a full tour to the country due to security fears but the successful, untroubled hosting of the Asia Cup in Lahore and Karachi was supposed to have eased the way for the Champions Trophy. A spate of bombings since, however, have once again cast doubt over the tournament, the ICC saying that they too were awaiting a report from their security consultants before taking a final decision on the venue. A bomb in Islamabad on the night of the final – in Karachi – killed ten people, while Karachi experienced seven low-intensity blasts the very next day.
“If the tournament isn’t held here because of these reasons,” Sohail said, “it will be a really sad day for Pakistan cricket. It is an unfair price for us to pay. This tournament is a real test of our role in this war: after eight years in the front-line, is this our reward – that we miss out on hosting this tournament? The onus is on the president to convince countries that it is safe to play in Pakistan and that sport has never been targeted here. The ICC and PCB are going the whole hog in ensuring it happens here but the president can really help with his involvement.”
I completely agree with Aamir on this issue, but the said part is Musharraf can only show his fists to his own nations he is tail wagging dog for these western countries nobody will care about him.
The moment he will leave not only Pakistan cricket but the whole country will get normalized its time for the dictator to leave.
UTP
I understand what your are saying but my point is that no country is safe in this region, the bombs which explode elsewhere are as dangerous as those which explode in Pakistan.
So why Srilanka? the kind of violence which is going on over there is far more horrific than that in Pakistan.
Its just that we are under the spotlight because of the war on terror,
all the countries in the region are suffering because of terrorism, so will it mean that until the war on terror is won no International cricket match will be played in any of these countries.
Can anybody guarantee that this war will end in foreseeable future.
well…I really dont know what the whole problem is…no one can blame the ICC or PCB on the conditions in the country….they are not good for sports, business, investment…
I dont feel safe there…how can a foreigner be…strange times…