AS I write these lines, the Indians have already arrived in the country and things seem to be all set for the series to get started. Of course, by the time these lines appear in print, the first One Day contest would have already taken place and the initial frenzy would have somewhat subsided. But, right now it is a great feeling to play host to India and I certainly look forward to some exciting cricket in the days ahead.
Last week, I had talked about Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to host the first encounter in Karachi. I generally get a reasonable feedback from my readers, but this time it was much more than the usual stuff. It was like I had touched a raw nerve among many a Karachiite who were worried that this great city is somehow on the receiving end of some debatable decisions. The accusing finger almost invariably points to the sitting CEO, who by the way has once again successfully manoeuvred his way into the commentary box, making a mockery of his boss’s earlier decision not to let it happen. But that is, perhaps, beside the point in the context of what is being discussed here, so we will leave it at that for the time being.
While, personally speaking, I do not exactly buy this theory of discrimination against Karachi, I have been inundated by requests to at least provide a platform for a sentiment that has such wide acceptance in this city. And the points these people raise are not easily dismissible. While I would not touch all the things that people have conveyed to me, specially the things that have more to do with perception than anything else, let me share with you at least one thing that actually happened this last week; the fiasco that surrounded the sale of tickets for the match in Karachi.
First the tickets had to go on sale from March 6, and it was only late in the night that the PCB decided to put off the process for a day and sell them on March 7. Naturally, not everyone picks up a newspaper early every morning and there were a few hundred people who reached the stadium on the 6th. There was no official effort to convey the decision properly to those who had come to the stadium and after spending a couple of hours under the scorching sun, the mob got restless and became an easy prey to rumours that resulted in minor scuffles. Why was the process shifted a day ahead at the eleventh hour? This is what the people want to know.
The next day when the ticket sale had to begin, only three windows were designated to sell some twenty-five thousand tickets. Again, there were scuffles between the mob and the law enforcement agencies, and the process had to be suspended. Finally it was March 8 when tickets were sold through six different centres and even then there were clashes reported in the media.
“Such a mind-boggling decision could only be made by a Chief Executive Officer who is either not in his senses or wants to infuriate the crowd ahead of the match,” thunders a mail that I received a day after the incident. “The idea should have been to minimize any interaction between cricket fans and police, for such interaction has a history of blowing out of hand. But this is exactly what Ramiz Raja and company encouraged,” argues another exasperated fan.
There have been several others who have voiced their concern, and all I have done today is to convey such sentiments to the people who matter, specially to PCB chief and the PCB Patron.
My hope, as I pen down these lines, is that things would move smoothly from here onwards. As for the match, if Pakistan was able to draw first blood, congratulations; if that didn’t turn out to be the case, there is always a second time!
AS I write these lines, the Indians have already arrived in the country and things seem to be all set for the series to get started. Of course, by the time these lines appear in print, the first One Day contest would have already taken place and the initial frenzy would have somewhat subsided. But, right now it is a great feeling to play host to India and I certainly look forward to some exciting cricket in the days ahead.
