The olive branch by the Indian government may kick-start sporting ties between the two countries, but it may already be too late for some of the most anticipated cricketing battles
INDIA’S ‘magnanimous’ decision to restore full sporting ties with Pakistan hopefully reopens the prospects of the resumption of bilateral cricketing relations between the South Asian arch-rivals. The significance of the announcement made by Yashwant Sinha, the Indian minister for external affairs, matters a lot to Pakistan in many ways.
Until the start of the current season, international cricket in Pakistan had suffered a lot, especially in wake of the 9/11 catastrophe because of boycotts based on security fears. The tour of Pakistan by India, scheduled for February/March in 2004, will definitely be a financial boon for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
It goes to the credit of the PCB and its counterpart across the border, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for this unexpected U-turn from the Indian government since the two Boards had been working diligently for a long time for the revival of matches between Pakistan and India.
At the same time, this step is going to ensure that the ICC Test Championship doesn’t lose it substance. Had the deadlock between Pakistan and India remained intact, the entire 10-year programme — in operation since 2001 — would have become a sick joke in the cricket world order.
It was only the puritanical, and sometimes irrational, attitude of the Indian government that deprived the citizens of both countries from watching enthralling tussles between Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulkar, Waqar Younis and Rahul Dravid, Shoaib Akhtar and Saurav Ganguly, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Anil Kumble, Saeed Anwar and Javagal Srinath, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Azharuddin except for some fleeting periods at mainly neutral venues.
India last played in Pakistan in 1997 when they reciprocated a tour by Pakistan earlier that year for One-Day Internationals when both the nations celebrated their golden jubilee of Independence. Other than this, no Indian team has visited our shores for a full Test series since the end of 1989.
The one lasting memory, if one vividly recalls was the first meeting between Waqar and Tendulkar at National Stadium on that opening day of the first Test on Nov 15, 1989. It was a confrontation the 18-year-old Pakistani won decisively when he shattered the stumps of the then nervous-looking 16-year-old Indian right-hander for 15 runs.
Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan captain, recently said that the biggest regret of his illustrious career was not being able to play against the likes of Tendulkar and company when he was at the peak of his powers as one of the greatest modern-day fast bowlers in the 1990s.
The same sentiments had been expressed by many others simply because the matches between Pakistan and India have that extra flavour and passion that normally one fails to notice in the oldest cricketing encounters between the Ashes rivals, Australia and England.
Tendulkar is universally regarded as the finest batsman ever to walk into a cricket ground since the heyday of Sir Donald Bradman. But even the Indian maestro will candidly concede that by shunning Pakistan for so long has only served to diminish his career. The critics judge a player as the best if he had played against all contemporary opponents regularly.
Tendulkar and Waqar, for example, have confronted each other in only two Test series, if one takes into account the 1998-99 battle in India, the last time these two countries met in Test cricket.
The PCB, for long, has been saying there is no problem whatsoever for an Indian team to play here because the government of Pakistan has repeatedly given its assurance on the security front.
In the months leading upto the moment of truth, the PCB must ensure that India visit Pakistan and not just a particular province as the South Africans have done and the New Zealanders who will follow suit. It means that India should and must be roped in to tour Karachi and Peshawar as well as Quetta to make it one memorable visit after such a long hiatus.
Pakistan, in the past, never opposed playing at a specific venue in India despite the ramifications emanating because of political and religious differences in that country. Therefore, it is imperative from Pakistan’s point of view and the feeling of the general public here that India should not make it an issue of contention if the PCB offers them an itinerary that represents every province of Pakistan.
The Indian junior team is scheduled to play in the quadrangular Under-19 Asia Cup but none of their three preliminary matches will be played in Karachi. Now this is a clear indication that the senior squad from India may also boycott Pakistan’s largest and most cosmopolitan city.
This unfortunate scenario needs to be taken seriously because Karachi has been unnecessarily victimized on one ground or the other while the ghastly events in nearby Mumbai sometime ago failed to dissuade New Zealand from undertaking tour of India.
South Africa, in the context of a minor bomb blast in Karachi two days before their originally planned tour, only agreed to play in Pakistan if both Karachi and Peshawar were scratched from the itinerary.
This is indeed one great tragedy for the Karachiites since most of them had bought tickets for the first One-day International well in advance. To this day, the ticket holders are patiently waiting to be compensated by the PCB.
On the other hand, New Zealand decided to come for five One-Dayers only after Pakistan accepted their wish to omit Karachi altogether from the match schedule. It’s an irony that the Kiwis are going to compensate for the cancelled Test in Karachi last year in May while the city is being boycotted.
Let’s hope that the Indian government keeps to its word and cricket takes it natural course. However, there are many other more serious issues that need to be settled through meaningful dialogues before Pakistan and India face each other on a cricket field. Lets keep out fingers crossed.
The olive branch by the Indian government may kick-start sporting ties between the two countries, but it may already be too late for some of the most anticipated cricketing battles 
