My worst fears of Terrorism breaching Cricket in India came true over the last one week. It had been threatening to breach in the last few months and I thought it was only a matter of time before it would do it and my thought has now become a reality.
All these years of me watching the Indian cricket I never believed that a team would be reluctant to tour India due to security concerns since we very rarely had any terror related incident close to a cricket match or a cricketer. But that belief of mine took a beating during the inaugural IPL early this year. Blast in Jaipur took place just a couple of days ahead of an IPL match scheduled there and that was when I wondered if it would have any impact on the match or for that matter on the Indian Cricket. The BCCI and IPL administrators somehow managed to get out of the hole then even as a lot of foreign players were also involved apart from the Indian players. Later there were blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, the cities which are actively involved in International Cricket. Luckily for the BCCI and Indian Cricket there was no home series in the vicinity then. Then came the serial blasts in Delhi in mid September. It came at the backdrop of the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan due to security concerns. I thought that it could have a huge impact, especially because the Australian side was about to land in India for the Test series and also one of the matches was to be played in Delhi. I felt BCCI and the Indian Cricket could not get away. To my surprise, the BCCI managed to convince Cricket Australia to go ahead with the tour and also to play a Test in Delhi as scheduled. To its credit, the BCCI did well to ensure that the Australian series went off well without any security issue. Then the blasts in Guwahati where the 6th ODI was scheduled to take place. But Guwahati is a place where bomb blasts are more common as compared to an international cricket match.
Now the latest terror attack in Mumbai has created fear among the cricketers which the other blasts were only threatening to create. As the television channels and the print media term this terror attack as “Mumbai under Siege” one should say that cricket is also under siege now. This time BCCI had no option but to cancel the remaining two matches of the seven match ODI series against England. On the lighter side one could say that the English players were waiting for an opportunity to fly back after the hammering they got from Dhoni and his boys in the first five matches, but the fact is that the players feel unsafe to stay and play here. If that is the case then their feelings have to be respected. In all the previous terror attacks the victims had been the common middle class people. All those blasts had been in the markets or the malls or the local trains. But now, terror has hit the people at the top level in the society. It is not often that you see the top CEOs and Chairmen running for their lives and that too if it happens in the two of the best hotels in the commercial capital of the country, then no way could one feel safe. Under such circumstances it is not fair to expect the English players, knowing the terrorists are specifically targeting their countrymen, to come here leaving their families behind and play cricket without any sort of fear.
The inaugural Champions League T20 has already been postponed indefinitely and it was only expected considering the facts that it was scheduled to commence in less than a week's time in the city where terrorism was showing its ugliest face and also six of the eight participating teams are foreign teams. However, BCCI did again pull it off by convincing England to return for the Test series. It was very important that the Test series carries on as postponement or cancellation of the series would have been a huge blow for India. Also, if the Test series is not played then it would have set a wrong precedence and the teams would start pulling out regularly. This is precisely the problem that Pakistan is facing. Now the onus is on the BCCI and Indian Government to ensure that any fears regarding safety and security are allayed. With the next World Cup scheduled to be played in the sub continent, the organizers cannot let the terrorists to run the game.
Having said this, we must add that in all probability India will not tour Pakistan early next year. Already some security concerns were raised regarding the tour and now after the events that happened in Mumbai and the deteriorating relations with Pakistan, the tour in all probability would be called off. This cannot be compared with England's concerns as India's tour to Pakistan has a huge political impact more than security concerns. I too personally feel that India should not tour Pakistan in near future.
Cricket is more than a game in India. It is a source of positive energy for millions in the country. It is an outlet to vent out the day to day pressures for a common man as well as a top bureaucrat. It may sound hysterical that cricket gets discussed even in Parliament but for Indians, it is a way by which people tell to themselves that life is normal and purely for this reason, Cricket has to be relieved of this siege. Also, what Mumbai is to Indian Economy, Indian Cricket is to International Cricket where the latter cannot survive without the former. We want both Mumbai and Cricket to retaliate against Terrorism.
I TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SALUTE AND PAY TRIBUTE TO ALL THE BRAVE COMMANDOS, POLICEMEN AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO LAID THEIR LIVES TO SAVE THE NATION FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE DEADLY TERRORISTS.
- Vivek & Raghavan
All these years of me watching the Indian cricket I never believed that a team would be reluctant to tour India due to security concerns since we very rarely had any terror related incident close to a cricket match or a cricketer. But that belief of mine took a beating during the inaugural IPL early this year. Blast in Jaipur took place just a couple of days ahead of an IPL match scheduled there and that was when I wondered if it would have any impact on the match or for that matter on the Indian Cricket. The BCCI and IPL administrators somehow managed to get out of the hole then even as a lot of foreign players were also involved apart from the Indian players. Later there were blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, the cities which are actively involved in International Cricket. Luckily for the BCCI and Indian Cricket there was no home series in the vicinity then. Then came the serial blasts in Delhi in mid September. It came at the backdrop of the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan due to security concerns. I thought that it could have a huge impact, especially because the Australian side was about to land in India for the Test series and also one of the matches was to be played in Delhi. I felt BCCI and the Indian Cricket could not get away. To my surprise, the BCCI managed to convince Cricket Australia to go ahead with the tour and also to play a Test in Delhi as scheduled. To its credit, the BCCI did well to ensure that the Australian series went off well without any security issue. Then the blasts in Guwahati where the 6th ODI was scheduled to take place. But Guwahati is a place where bomb blasts are more common as compared to an international cricket match.
Now the latest terror attack in Mumbai has created fear among the cricketers which the other blasts were only threatening to create. As the television channels and the print media term this terror attack as “Mumbai under Siege” one should say that cricket is also under siege now. This time BCCI had no option but to cancel the remaining two matches of the seven match ODI series against England. On the lighter side one could say that the English players were waiting for an opportunity to fly back after the hammering they got from Dhoni and his boys in the first five matches, but the fact is that the players feel unsafe to stay and play here. If that is the case then their feelings have to be respected. In all the previous terror attacks the victims had been the common middle class people. All those blasts had been in the markets or the malls or the local trains. But now, terror has hit the people at the top level in the society. It is not often that you see the top CEOs and Chairmen running for their lives and that too if it happens in the two of the best hotels in the commercial capital of the country, then no way could one feel safe. Under such circumstances it is not fair to expect the English players, knowing the terrorists are specifically targeting their countrymen, to come here leaving their families behind and play cricket without any sort of fear.
The inaugural Champions League T20 has already been postponed indefinitely and it was only expected considering the facts that it was scheduled to commence in less than a week's time in the city where terrorism was showing its ugliest face and also six of the eight participating teams are foreign teams. However, BCCI did again pull it off by convincing England to return for the Test series. It was very important that the Test series carries on as postponement or cancellation of the series would have been a huge blow for India. Also, if the Test series is not played then it would have set a wrong precedence and the teams would start pulling out regularly. This is precisely the problem that Pakistan is facing. Now the onus is on the BCCI and Indian Government to ensure that any fears regarding safety and security are allayed. With the next World Cup scheduled to be played in the sub continent, the organizers cannot let the terrorists to run the game.
Having said this, we must add that in all probability India will not tour Pakistan early next year. Already some security concerns were raised regarding the tour and now after the events that happened in Mumbai and the deteriorating relations with Pakistan, the tour in all probability would be called off. This cannot be compared with England's concerns as India's tour to Pakistan has a huge political impact more than security concerns. I too personally feel that India should not tour Pakistan in near future.
Cricket is more than a game in India. It is a source of positive energy for millions in the country. It is an outlet to vent out the day to day pressures for a common man as well as a top bureaucrat. It may sound hysterical that cricket gets discussed even in Parliament but for Indians, it is a way by which people tell to themselves that life is normal and purely for this reason, Cricket has to be relieved of this siege. Also, what Mumbai is to Indian Economy, Indian Cricket is to International Cricket where the latter cannot survive without the former. We want both Mumbai and Cricket to retaliate against Terrorism.
I TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SALUTE AND PAY TRIBUTE TO ALL THE BRAVE COMMANDOS, POLICEMEN AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO LAID THEIR LIVES TO SAVE THE NATION FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE DEADLY TERRORISTS.
- Vivek & Raghavan
Hey all ur 3 blogs are very gud and i like the way you have said abt how cricket is No1 sport in India
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