Pakistan cricket... runs aground
Heads must roll and Pakistan must begin immediate efforts to send competent people to attempt damage control as soon as possible
By Malik Arshed Gilani
Cricket in Pakistan has really hit rock bottom. The ICC has been allowed through acts of commission and omission from our side to remove Pakistan from the next World Cup like one would an unwanted insect from a drink.
It gives me no pleasure to record that in the previous weeks this writer had forewarned that if the PCB did not take rapid action against their own staff who had disregarded timely warnings about lack of security, which I now learn was known to the ICC Match Officials, that this kind of a reaction was inevitable.

Is blaming the ICC entirely justified?
The question is what to do now? The ball has almost slipped out of PCB's hand at the moment and it has become a diplomatic matter now
By Muhammad Asif Khan
The International Cricket Council (ICC) verdict on the World Cup matches in Pakistan was truly on the cards. So much to say about the "partiality" of the governing board of the ICC but is blaming the ICC entirely justified?

Actually the attack on the Sri Lanka happened to be the last nail in the coffin for Pakistan as we had a lot of hope that the Sri Lankan tour could be presented as an example to the world but we could not capitalise on the golden opportunity for so many reasons and off course inadequate security was amongst the major ones. The incident in which six players of Sri Lanka got injured was the first such event in the history of the game therefore the repercussions were predicted even then.

2011 World Cup: Is Pakistan the most dangerous place?
How safe is India should also be a pet subject of discussion. There is a total unanimity that the fear and insecurity looms large on every oneís psyche, and even India is vulnerable to unsavory incidents, no matter how much they try to portray their peaceful ambience
By Dr Nauman Niaz
With the Indian Premier League spurring into prominence and its only competitive threat, the Indian Cricket League hasnít been able to win ICCís compassion. Monopolistic and trying to eliminate anything averse to them, regardless of its value and sanctity, the ICC has given predetermined decisions. ICCís top tier didnít form their perceptions and decisions by consciousness through the process of ideation. Their capability to contemplate decisions, as in the past, was more or less associated with the ability of reasoning and self-reflection.

This February, Pakistan decided to hire the services of the Austrian coach George Kottan for an initial period of one year, extendable based on performance.

It was decided that the 68-year-old will look after the National team, Under-23 team that will go all out for hat-trick at the 11th South Asian Games (Jan 29 - Feb 9, 2010).

Kottan, former head coach of Bangladesh, visited Pakistan in 2003 when Pakistan hosted Asian U20 Championship here at the Peoples Sports Complex. He also coached Goan outfit -- Churchill Brothers -- in India 2006.

Kottan is one of the seven gold medallist coaches in the history of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. He was very impressive during the event six years ago as under his supervision Bangladesh were crowned champions at their own backyard.

Kottan's abilities were put to the test in less than a month after joining Pakistan team when Greenshirts went to take part in Prime Minister's Cup in Nepal. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament in the group phase which was very disappointing for the new coach, who knew very little about the strengths and weaknesses of the team and was initially finding it hard to communicate with the boys.

Pakistan was riding high on hopes as they left for Sri Lanka to take part in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers Group D, having a lot of new faces on the bench including the coach and two new British born Pakistani players -- defender Atif Bashir and midfielder Adnan Farooq Ahmad.

For Pakistan football team the event kicked off with the match against Chinese Taipei who are ranked 166th in the world (one place below Pakistan). Pakistan had played Chinese Taipei twice before this encounter and their head-to-head was levelled at 1-1.

After a dismal performance of the Greenshirts for the last couple of years at international level, the triumph in the round will be a morale booster for the team as well as the coach. AFC was designed in such a way that one team each from the four groups and the best runners-up will proceed to the final round which will also carry the defending champions India, Kazakhstan and DPR Korea, who are given direct entry.

On April 4th the stage was set for Pakistan to overcome their dismal form of past years at the Sugathadasa Sports Complex in Colombo.

On Saturday evening a flurry of chances missed by Pakistan denied them the opportunity to beat Chinese Taipei as the Group D match between the two teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers ended in a 1-1 draw.

Few chances missed can be blamed on luck but rest of the miss firing was the faults of a team lacking management and clearly lacking a proper game plan. Quite a few miss-hits by the players in the crucial moments of the match caused two crucial points.

Greenshirts took the field without their veteran goalkeeper Jaffar Khan, who had developed fracture in his hand during a practice session and had to come back to Pakistan, and the young goalie Aamir Gul had to take up the job against Chinese Taipei in place of his senior partner.

Both the teams failed to impress with their form and lack of control of the ball as the ground was wet and slippery due to heavy overnight rain.

Chinese Taipei's registered first on the scoresheets when striker Chang's low push went through the hands of the goalkeeper. Pakistan levelled the match seven minutes into the second half via penalty and the British-based midfielder Adnan Farooq Ahmad made no mistake in taking the spot-kick with great accuracy.

After a not so good showing in their opening match Pakistan's next face-off was set with Brunei Darussalam which would be the first ever clash between the two teams.

Pakistan seemed to be a better team in this match with more control and accuracy -- probably they started understanding the 68-year-old.

Pakistan Safiuulah Khan's heroics gave Brunei their worst ever Monday blues as he guided Pakistan to a spectacular 6-0 triumph against Brunei Darussalam in Group D match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers held at the Sugathadasa Sports Complex.

Dir-born Safiullah, a former PTCL and Allied Bank Limited (ABL) player, proved his wonderful striking ability, completing a quadruple in the contest. Safiullah, who has recently signed a contract with the Lahore's Pak Elektron Limited (PEL), struck in the 19th, 61st, 67th and 71st minute to help the Greenshirts record a thumping victory.

Other players disturbing the scorer were Jadid Khan Pathan who scored in the 30th minute, while Pakistan's British connection Adnan Farooq Ahmad proved his worth with a strike in the 83rd minute to complete the rout.

Pakistan last pool match was against Sri Lanka, only team ranked higher than them in the rankings. Greenshirts needed to win this match in order to qualify for the final round while Sri Lanka need only a draw to advance.

This would be the 18th international clash between the two teams. Both sides have won seven matches each while the remaining three matches have ended in a draw. Pakistan had psychological pressure as last year in the same qualifiers held in Chinese Taipei the Greenshirts had gone down 1-7 against the Sri Lankans.

The humiliating result had prompted the PFF to sack the then coach Akhtar Mohiuddin.

But nevertheless Sri Lanka qualified for the final round when they held Pakistan to a 2-2 draw.

With this draw Pakistan were left with a minimal chance to make it in the eight-team main round as the best second placed side from the respective four groups.

Muhammad Essa-led Pakistan went 0-1 down very early when Sri Lanka scored in the second minute when Rohana Ruwan Thilaka steered the ball past the keeper Amir Gul after a dreadful mix-up by the Pakistani defenders following a free-kick.

It was in the 81st minute when Pakistan bounced back in the game when striker Safiullah Khan, who had scored four goals against Brunei the other day, sent home a fine left footer.

Two minutes later, Pakistan made it 2-1 when England-based defender Atif Bashir, who was used in the midfield in this crucial tie, scored a goal. Sri Lanka equalised in the 89th minute.

All over it was a great and promising display by the Pakistani team who upon entering the tournament were considered as minnows.

Man behind the drastic change in the Greenshirts -- George Kottan -- was not happy with the referees of the tournament and blamed the referee for the draw against Sri Lanka as he stated that Pakistan should have been awarded a penalty in the 60th minute.

Kottan still has high hopes for the team and seems to be learning from the teams mistakes and making it a stronger unit with every match. He pointed out that the frontline was weak and Pakistan did not capitalise on the chances created especially against Chinese Taipei.

Kottan in an interview to 'The News' stated that he is very impressed with the game of the two England-based players -- defender Atif Bashir and midfielder Adnan Farooq -- Ahmad on the tour.

"Both the boys played in a professional manner and they are the players who cannot be compared with other boys of the Pakistani team," he said.

He also pointed out that few of the players have good game but lack the pace and speed wit the ball and he also suggested to the players to give their hundred percent in the field.

The good news out of all this for Pakistan is that finally we have found a coach that understands the limitation and possibilities of the team. Kottan stating in his interview also suggested that with proper training and grooming Pakistan can become a fighting unit on the field.

But altogether the new coach is satisfied with the performance and progress of the team and is hopeful for a good future of the team. As far is Pakistan Football Federation is concerned their efforts of finding a solution for Pakistan's coach problem has been resolved and it can now turn its focus on the development of the game throughout the country.

With proper coach available, it's high time that PFF starts hunting for new football talent so it can be groomed for a better future of Pakistan in the sport.

The inaugural Asia Cup was to be held in Lahore originally but was later shifted to Karachi because of the wet weather in Lahore. The Chinese team had in fact reached Lahore and had to fly back to Karachi.

The Pakistan team which entered the foray was almost the same that had retained the World Cup in Bombay (now Mumbai) in such an emphatic manner that it was labelled by many as the Dream Team. Only one man was missing: the captain of the World Cup winning side, centre-half Akhtar Rasool who had retired from international hockey. He later on embarked upon a political career which saw him elected to Punjab provincial assembly in no less than five consecutive elections. Akhtar also served as a minister in the provincial cabinet.

The tournament was originally planned with eight teams competing, divided into two pools. This format was later changed into a single-league of seven teams as Japan withdrew at the last moment.

Pakistan started from where it had left at the World Cup, destroying all the opposing sides, Sri Lanka was clobbered 14-0, China 10-1, Singapore and Malaysia by identical 7-0 and Bangladesh 9-0.

The stage was set for the last league match against arch-rivals India, which had also won all its matches easily but trailed Pakistan on goal average, leaving Pakistan needing only a draw to win the title.

More than 30,000 people jam packed the Hockey Club of Pakistan stadium. Both the teams started cautiously, with Pakistan exerting more pressure. After experienced full-back Manzoorul Hasan failed to convert the first two penalty corners that came Pakistan's way the other full-back Qasim Zia was assigned the responsibility.

The young full-back (who later entered politics and is presently the president of the PHF a well) had only made his international debut in the Indo-Pak series before the World cup in November 1981. Qasim responded magnificently and converted two penalty corners one after another.

Pakistan did not stop at that. Flying horse Samiullah sent a scorching cross from the left wing. The ball reached his younger brother, right out Kalimiullah, who banged it into the net from the top of the circle with his trademark, unstoppable chop hit.

But the most spectacular effort was that of the wizard Hasan Sardar. The legendary centre-forward picked the ball from near the centre line, then swerving and dribbling, he dodged past four Indian defenders to put away the fourth goal.

Those who were privileged to see Hasan's great act that termed it as "poetry in motion".

Some connoisseurs regard it as hockey's answer to Maradona's goal vs England in 1986 soccer world cup which was later declared by FIFA 'the goal of the Millineum'.

It was a befitting finale for Hasan in a tournament dominated by him. He not only scored the highest number of goals (16) with a double hat trick against China but was also declared the Player of the Tournament, an award he had also won at the World Cup a few months back.

The Chinese turned out to be the surprise packet of the event by clinching the bronze medal. And now finally, after almost a quarter of a century, China has emerged as a real threat at Asian level for the first time. They defeated both Pakistan and India for the first time ever to won the silver medal in the 2006 Asian games. Ironically it was Pakistan who had not only introduced hockey in that country in 70s but have also been China's mentor.

By lifting the first Asia cup, Pakistan kept up its tradition of winning the inaugural editions of major tournaments introduced after the World War II which include the 1958 Asian games hockey gold, the 1971 World Cup, the 1978 Champions Trophy and the 1979 Junior World Cup.

ASIA CUP STATS 

Edition Host First Second Third

1st (1982) Karachi (Pakistan) Pakistan India China

2nd (1985) Dacca (Bangladesh) Pakistan India S.Korea

3rd (1989) New Delhi (India) Pakistan India S.Korea

4th (1993) Hiroshima (Japan) S.Korea India Pakistan

5th  (1999) Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) S.Korea Pakistan India

6th (2003) Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) India Pakistan S.Korea

7th (2007) Chennai (India) India S.Korea Malaysia

Asia Cup Rankings

1st Pakistan, 2nd India, 3rd China, 4th Malaysia, 5th Bangladesh,

6th Singapore, 7th Sri Lanka.

Pakistan's scorers

Hasan Sardar 16 , Haneef Khan 11, Manzoorul Hasan 7, Kalimullah 5, Saeed Khan 4, Qasim Zia 3, Manzoor Hussain Junior 2, Saleem Sherwani 1, Samiullah 1, Ishtiaq Ahmad 1.

The Pakistan Team

Goalkeepers: Moinuddin and Shahid Ali Khan.

Full-backs: Manzoorul Hasan, Qasim Zia and Nasir Naseer.

Half-backs: Rasheedul Hasan, Ishtiaq Ahmad, Naeem Akhtar

and Saeed Ahmed.

Forwards: Kaleemullah, Manzoor Hussain Junior, Hasan Sardar,

Haneef Khan, Samiullah: Saleem Sherwani and Saeed Khan.

Captain: Samiullah Khan.

Manager: Khawaja Zakauddin.

The first One-day International of the Pakistan-Australia series, being played in UAE, turned out to be a unique match, for three reasons. First, that it was the first match played in Dubai in view of terror attack fears, implicitly meaning that cricket has really been banished from Pakistan.

Secondly, Afridi emerged more as a bowler than a batsman, shifting his popular image as a big hitter. And thirdly, it was a defeat of the Australian team at the hands of Pakistan, which reminded me of the defeat of the world champions at the hands of minnows Bangladesh at Cardiff in England four years back in June 2005.

AFRIDI MORE A BOWLER THAN BATSMAN

The low-scoring match witnessed humble batting on the part of the target-setters Australia, thus confining the chasers to the paltry target of 168 runs. Interestingly not a single fifty could be scored by any batsman of the either team. A total of 16 dismissals showed how poor it was a show of batting by the both sides.

The 29-year-old 'Boom Boom' Afridi proved his excellence. When the big hitter exposed Australia's frailties against his spin and, in his career-best bowling figures, sent them packing for a paltry 168 runs, by himself dismissing six Aussie batsmen for just 38 runs, he proved himself more a bowler than a batsman, and played a whirlwind 24 runs innings, thus not letting his popular image down.

Afridi's previous best one-day bowling of 5-11 came against Kenya at Birmingham in 2004. But Afridi must remember that he is a batsman and his fans want to see him bat well. His bowling excellence may benefit the team, but it must be a secondary choice for him.

Afridi is inherently an aggressive batsman and enjoys the strike rate of 109 runs per 100 balls which is highest in the history of one-day version of the game.

PAKISTAN ISOLATED

Cricket has really been banished from Pakistan after Australia refused to play here. The refusal of the Aussies and Kiwis, and then of England and the West Indies, to tour Pakistan for security reasons turned out to be absolutely justified after the Sri Lanka cricket team fell prey to the worst terror attacks in the of game's history on March 03, 2009.

Terrorism, or at least the fear of terrorism, had crept into sports becoming a major concern since Athens Olympic in 2004. But the March 03, 2009, attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore sealed the fate of cricket in Pakistan, and endorsed the ICC decision to shift away the biennial Champions Trophy tournament, and the ICC World Cup 2011 matches from Pakistan.

In the exile of the Champions Trophy could be foreseen, indeed, exodus of the cricket world cup event from Pakistan. The horrible terror attack and even more the security lapse invited international fury.

Thus, when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed his wish to seek answers about Pakistani security failings, the umpire Simon Taufel accused that their bus had been left unprotected by the security personnel, and England's Chris Broad said police had left them 'sitting ducks', they cannot be altogether falsified without solid proofs. The video footage, captured by closed-circuit cameras, showed two suspects fearlessly roaming on roads without a least sense of being caught by the police.

AUSSIES THE LOSERS?

The Aussies have a marvellous and matchless record, both in ODIs and Test. They have been reigning the world of cricket for more than a decade by staying as the world champions for at least 12 years (by winning the World Cup 2007), their title as world champions spans over the period of 12 years, at least, since 1999 to 2011.

Undisputedly, they are matchless, unconquerable and almost faultless; the qualities they most obviously demonstrated during the Caribbean World Cup event. On the one hand, they enjoyed thrashing the real minnows like Netherlands and Scotland by heaping the totals of 358/5 and 334/6, respectively. On the other hand, the greater their opponents were, the tougher their cricket was; they reduced their great rivals, like South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, to quasi-minnows. Resultantly, all their matches were, in fact, one-sided games.

Of the nine ICC cricket world cup tournaments, four fell into the lap of Aussies, two into the Windies, and one each into those of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A simple analysis is sufficient to show how magnanimous the Australians are. The World Cup victories of India and Pakistan were a chance occurrence; neither of the team could win all the matches during the tournament. The invincibility of West Indies during the first two competitions comprised victories in just five matches each time.

The Sri Lankan invincibility was dented by the two matches that fell into their lap without playing a single ball; Australia and West Indies preferred to lose two points each to Sri Lanka by refusing to play in Colombo on security grounds. No doubt, the Aussies were not unconquerable during the 1987 and 1999 victories, they excelled in the next two mega events of 2003 and 2007 by staying unconquerable.

It owes to the awesome performance of the world champions that their sparse defeats during the last 10 years have become historical games, letting their rival team to boast of defeating such a great team like Australia. One such defeat was that at the hands of minnows Bangladesh. Australia are marvellous winners, but they are shocking losers also.

They were shockingly thrashed by minnows Bangladesh at Cardiff on June 18, 2005. Though it seemed almost unbelievable, it really happened that the minnows Bangladesh beat the Titans Australia by five wickets in a One-day International of NatWest Triangular Series played in Cardiff on June 18, 2005. The target of 250 runs did not least embarrass the juvenile Bangladesh when Habibul Bashar scored 47 in a 130-run partnership with the 20-year-old Ashraful who played match-winning knock comprising 11 fours.

The defeat left a lasting impact on the Aussie captain, who regretted his statement almost derogatory about Bangladesh, and declared this defeat as the biggest upset.

However, the case of Pakistan team this time is different from that of Bangladesh, in the sense that the Pakistani batsmen had to chase an easier target than that of Bangladesh. While the first match has been won by Pakistan, I fear the 'exiled cricketers' would not be able to keep up their superiority, and it is feared that the world champions will be the ultimate winners of the tournament. Let us see what happens!

Cricket in Pakistan has really hit rock bottom. The ICC has been allowed through acts of commission and omission from our side to remove Pakistan from the next World Cup like one would an unwanted insect from a drink.

It gives me no pleasure to record that in the previous weeks this writer had forewarned that if the PCB did not take rapid action against their own staff who had disregarded timely warnings about lack of security, which I now learn was known to the ICC Match Officials, that this kind of a reaction was inevitable.

It gives one no pleasure to continuously criticise our cricket board but so far to public knowledge there is no record of the PCB officials directly responsible for the security of the visiting team having taken any recorded actions in response to the timely warnings given to them by knowledgeable authorities. There existed an agreed written security protocol between the Police and the PCB; hence it was the bounden duty of the end user, the PCB, to ensure its enforcement.

Failing this the teams should not have been allowed by the PCB officials to leave the hotel. Firm, timely and responsible action could possibly have averted the tragedy.

The chairman of the PCB for reasons that remain unknown has chosen not to take any action against his own negligent staff. It is also obvious that the BCCI, the BCB and the Sri Lanka Board did not support the PCB or protest the decision taken by the ICC. Both these attitudes have contributed to the sad state we find ourselves in today. How sad is it to read the comment; 'Well nobody wants to play here, so what can we do'. The supporting statements to such remarks made by people of yesteryear who are well passed their use by date are equally pathetic. Did we make any efforts to mobilise opinion within the ACC to ensure some support at the fateful meeting? Did we make any efforts to pacify the ICC Officials who were affected by our carelessness? We must demand public replies to these questions. Heads must roll and Pakistan must begin immediate efforts to send competent people to attempt damage control as soon as possible. Let the ICC's action be a wake-up call for all of us.

On a more positive note, I have read reports indicating that the PCB has succeeded in raising over one million dollars through the sale of title, co-title and ground signage for this series. Current times are difficult with a severe downturn in the economic scenario and thus the PCB's marketing department has done very well to achieve these sales in spite of being hampered by hard times and a clash of dates with the IPL matches. They need much praise. We all expect that the PCB will be as efficient in controlling expenses and not let the hard work of their marketing team be wasted. One hopes that the Dubai Stadium has been negotiated into paying the PCB at least one million dollars for the privilege of holding its maiden international event between two major teams -- Australia and Pakistan -- thus sanctifying the stadium as an official ICC venue. In addition I hope that as an industry norm this private company has been required to pick up all the expenses and pay royalty for all future first-class matches to be held in that stadium. Lest some body argue that no options were available to assist in hard negotiations, let me point out that the ADCC and Sharjah are already ICC approved venues. The hotels and other costs in Sharjah would have been less than in Dubai. For purposes of any negotiations one could always argue that six matches could easily be played at one ground as has happened many times before with further reduction in costs.

I feel sure that Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan who is a friend of Pakistan could always be expected to ensure that the ADCC did not take undue advantage at this time of our difficulty. I sincerely hope that we negotiated with each of the venues as individual entities and not let a situation arise we were talking to all of them collectively. These would have been bad tactics.

To turn to another unfortunate topic it is sad that BCCI's Indian Premier League has shown its partisan colours. Pakistani players have been pointedly left out of the tournament even though it is being played in South Africa. The bias is further evidenced by the organisers even ignoring Pakistani Umpires who are considered amongst the best in Asia. This is not an unfair bleat; the BCCI has totally abandoned the PCB when we consider all the support our Board has provided them in the last few years. It is the need of the hour that we take positive action against this nation biased approach adopted by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and their League. The BCCI has been pushing the ICC to provide a window in their future tours program to accommodate this supposedly international league, even though it has adopted a monopolistic stance and deprives a large number of Players who could be benefited by similar competitive tournaments. It is necessary that the PCB place this bias on record with the ICC and require that no compromises be made to accommodate a tournament that does not meet a basic requirement of freedom from political bias.

The PCB should also request an immediate meeting of the ACC with this item as its main Agenda. Our efforts to these ends should be given wide exposure and assistance taken from the foreign office to ensure that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are on board with this absolutely genuine request. Pakistani depicted players are being used by the IPL in their advertisements presumably because it makes the event more attractive by highlighting the old India-Pakistan rivalry, yet they find it necessary to ignore Players of Pakistani origin.

It appears fairly obvious that this is purely for political reasons being in line with their national stance at this time. Cricket is not meant to be a political forum and must not be allowed to degenerate into one.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) verdict on the World Cup matches in Pakistan was truly on the cards. So much to say about the "partiality" of the governing board of the ICC but is blaming the ICC entirely justified?

Actually the attack on the Sri Lanka happened to be the last nail in the coffin for Pakistan as we had a lot of hope that the Sri Lankan tour could be presented as an example to the world but we could not capitalise on the golden opportunity for so many reasons and off course inadequate security was amongst the major ones. The incident in which six players of Sri Lanka got injured was the first such event in the history of the game therefore the repercussions were predicted even then.

The event not only exposed us but cemented the impression of fear created by teams like Australia, South Africa, India, England and others who were reluctant to tour Pakistan even before the Sri Lanka mishap and now they are in a position to portray Pakistan as an "epi-centre" of terrorism.

There seems little merit in claims that the World Cup 2011 matches were shifted due to politics. The simple reason was that the other boards or governments were not ready to send their teams to Pakistan (they can't be blamed for it). When it is said that terrorism can hit any place then it is forgotten that cricket players have never been targeted before March 3rd at the Liberty Chowk in Lahore.

Not only the security situation was put in jeopardy after the Lahore attack but the reputation and credibility of the PCB were also damaged before the ICC because the PCB promised top-class security to the Sri Lankan squad but the liberty event exposed us big-time.

The PCB was to provide VVIP security to the visitors for which repeated alteration of route to stadium from the hotel was mandatory but what happened was miserable.

For those who argue that the ICC decision was premature, the ICC president David Morgan was pretty clear that for ICC events they need tight security, and Pakistan was deprived off the chance to host WC matches because of the significant uncertainly surrounding the country from the safety and security point of view.

Even before the Sri Lanka series when the Champions Trophy was moved to England the PCB authorities did not brief other nations and the ICC properly but luckily the Lankan lions snubbed all fears and extended their hands for their Pakistani counterparts.

The question is what to do now? The ball has almost slipped out of PCB's hand at the moment and it has become a diplomatic matter now. The government of Pakistan has to step-in to negate or somehow dilute the impression about Pakistan.

Just to remind you, that it had happened in the past as well during the 1996 World Cup which was played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka when Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka after the Central Bank bombing by the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lanka was awarded both games on forfeit.

Again in the 2003 World Cup England did not play in Zimbabwe citing fears for the players' safety, while New Zealand decided against playing in Kenya because of security fears. Therefore who knows what kind of terrorism is in the offing this time around as this South Asian region is engulfed by this menace.

In the end, one would like reiterate the importance of an Asian bloc which was being led by Pakistan once in the mid-nineties and Pakistan successfully campaigned for the World Cup and brought it to South Asia for the first time in 1996. Teams like India used to follow Pakistan but now Pakistan has been following India. Whatever India says about the ICL PCB follows and in the case of the IPL the PCB did not stand up for the players ignored by India. All in all our board chiefs have not stood up anywhere lately, therefore its high time that they start asserting themselves or let somebody else take over.

With the Indian Premier League spurring into prominence and its only competitive threat, the Indian Cricket League hasnít been able to win ICCís compassion. Monopolistic and trying to eliminate anything averse to them, regardless of its value and sanctity, the ICC has given predetermined decisions. ICCís top tier didnít form their perceptions and decisions by consciousness through the process of ideation. Their capability to contemplate decisions, as in the past, was more or less associated with the ability of reasoning and self-reflection.

Now, with BCCI using the power of its huge financial clout into cricket and promising them lucrative television rights and other such deals, it seems the ICC has stopped applying intellect and working on intuition and inspiration. With the ICL given hard end of the stick, it looks that mind-generalization and impulsiveness have been the tools applied to reach such radical decisions. ICL not being acceptable to BCCI is also not welcomed by the ICC, a serious reflection of how effectively India has grown in the international work-space, also establishing its hegemony without fail.

ICL should have been given the official status-and one of the premier factors in not accepting their application was that they had failed to acquire BCCIís approval. Haroon Lorgat, ICCís chief executive though seemingly cynical and trying to mask the ignominy, brazenly added that he was ready to deal with the legal implications, if ever the ICL approached courts in England or elsewhere.

There are reports that BCCI coerced the ICC to believe that ICLís World Series could be a concomitant threat to the World Cup. The only heartening solution that came to the fore was that ICC had left it to the individual boards to decide about the future of players contracted to the ëillegalí league.

The worst hit have been Pakistan and the PCB -- they have been shorn of their right to hold the World Cup 2011 matches as ICC cited the growing geo-political uncertainty and recent acts of terrorism as inevitable reasons for allowing BCCI to enjoy major share of the pie. ICCís decision may well be unchallengeable as the attack on the Sri Lanka team, first of its kind in gameís history, rocked the world forum. And more so there was contradiction in whatever ICCís President David Morgan had to say: ëit is a regrettable decision but our number one priority is to create certainty and deliver a safe, secure and successful eventí. How could the ICC and Mr Morgan be sure that such acts of terrorism were not possibilities in highly labile and unstable countries such as India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; we agree to their concerns and consider their decision of not hosting the World Cup 2011 matches in Pakistan as understandable, logical but definitely a pre-determined one; ICC should have gone to an extent of conceptualizing not only Pakistanís deteriorating law and order conditions but viewing neutrally how bad the sequence of events have been in Asia generally.

It seems to be a misplaced fear of the ICC. Worldís skepticism against Pakistan isnít coming to an end despite shattering of the cosmos, and a cash-rich BCCI being touted as a better model of success and security. ICC, contrary to its perspectives, blinded by Indiaís huge market has wrecked cricketís evolutionary progress. That is to say, an evolutionary trajectory leading to better and better conditions for world gameís existence have been nailed in a grave filled with self-interest and a hidden bias against countries like Pakistan. BCCI has been dictating and now they have shrewdly overtaken the ICC -- soon they are going to have their own man heading worldís governing body. It seems India has silently revealed its mindset to politically, geographically and socially isolate Pakistan.

India's political and environmental scene is no different. Until 2011 we still have almost two complete years. How safe is India should also be a pet subject of discussion. There is a total unanimity that the fear and insecurity looms large on every oneís psyche, and even India is vulnerable to unsavory incidents, no matter how much they try to portray their peaceful ambience.

It has been and still is a theatre of million mutinies and the fears of militancy travelling from Afghanistan via Pakistan to India are not unfounded. Pakistan never produced the militants as it has often been condemned rather its space has been used for the theatrical acts. Afghanistan has been the prime point of militancy and its origins and ICC were compliant considering giving them the one-day international status. Leaving aside the Mumbai carnage only last year, the US National Counter Terrorism Centre said that India was the site of more than 12% of all terroristsí attacks worldwide in 2005. The situation has deteriorated. It is home to more terrorism-related fatalities than any other country except Iraq. There is little doubt that internal security is a major concern of India. There are basically four flash points that have been pushing the internal security to deteriorate every day. These are problems in the Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir issue, leftist violence and communal riots. Those in the mandarin of power prefer to absorb the shocks of these issues rather than find a lasting solution to them. In the end India continues to bleed red each day-then why did ICC readily agree to deprive Pakistan alone.

The seven Northeastern states that are separated by the rest of India by a ëchickenís neckí, have been in ferment for over half a century now. The area is prone to tribal friction and home to number of religious and cultural conflicts. And even if we move centrally into India, people are subjected to constant and unnecessary trouble by the Indian security forces. The militant groups too are rampant with extortions and kidnappings. There are places where parallel administration in every state and the popular perception is while India reins the day, the militants rule the night. The problem posed by the left ultra or the revolutionary communists in the country is another major issue that is disturbing the internal security arrangements. Human Rights Watch estimates some 10,000 armed militias are members of left ultra organizations. The US State Department reported saying that left ultra terror activity has been growing in sophistication and lethality and could pose a significant long-term challenge to the Indian government.

Hindu-Muslim communal riots are a regular feature in independent India. The communal riots are the result of deep-rooted indoctrination of mind nurtured by the political and religious leadership to manipulate the ballet box democracy. The entire society has been fed upon the staple diet of animosity where communities are forced to seem themselves in terms of imagined identities of ëwe and theyí.

There are not less than 30 odd rebel groups espousing their separatist agenda in the northeast region. They in an attempt bend the government to accept their demands are targeting the civilians and damaging the infrastructure of the region. So far more than 50,000 lives have been lost in this carnival of rebellion.

The story of Jammu and Kashmir is no different where several militant organizations are up in arms to separate the state from the rest of India. The left ultra violence is the handiwork of the Communist Party of India that was formed in 2004 after the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Peoples War Group.

As far as Hindu Muslim problem is concerned, the hydra headed organisation called ìSangh Privarî that strives to establish the supremacy of Hindu religion and subservience of other religious groups in a multi cultural and religious society like India is the lynchpin of creating the Hindu-Muslim divide in the country.

Bangladesh is having its own rebellions within the army and stand-ups to governmentís authority whilst Sri Lanka is to the core infected with Tamil war-zones. In India, the major acts of terrorism have taken place in cities that have traditionally hosted very regular cricket-It is Delhi, Mumbai, Jodhpur, Bangalore etcetera plus Punjab has been a centre of insurgency. One is left in shreds just recalling that despite Mumbai being heavily guarded by Indiaís supreme naval power, a handful of terrorists not only squeezed inside but held the city hostage and completely paralyzed? And it was even worse than Sri Lankaís team being ambushed at Lahore- if it could happen in Mumbai as recently as in November 2006, why couldnít it be repeated in 2011?

So why ICC readily accepted Indiaís version and took 16 proposed matches from Pakistan to the other three countries? Ideally, World Cup 2011 should have been taken to Australia and New Zealand and the 2015 edition could have been brought back to the subcontinent- there are reports that Australiaís adamancy to host both the cups in 2011 and 2015 made India whimper. And ICC eagerly submitted to Indiaís desires, to some projecting as if the ICC stood for Indian Cricket Council.