MOHSIN Naqvi, Pakistan’s cricket chief, has shown a brave face. Now he has to be unrelenting and put the onus on India to return the favour. From Monday, there will be just 100 days left before the start of the Champions Trophy, the first major ICC tournament to be held in Pakistan since it co-hosted the 1996 World Cup. But the schedule has yet to be formally announced, thanks largely to India having not confirmed that it will send its ateam to Pakistan. And with a delegation from ICC, world cricket’s governing body, set to visit Pakistan, India threw a curveball by telling its media that it was not willing to send its team to Pakistan and wanted its matches to be held at a neutral venue. That is not new. Last year, India’s refusal to send its cricket team to Pakistan forced the Asia Cup to be played according to a hybrid model. Despite India’s harsh stance, Pakistan travelled to India for the World Cup, hoping that its neighbours would reciprocate for the Champions Trophy. Mr Naqvi rightly reminded India during a news conference on Friday that Pakistan had made ‘friendly gestures’ previously and that sports and politics should not mix.

It is time for India to respond positively. Despite political tensions between the two, Pakistan has accepted India’s demands in the recent past, and despite visa hurdles created for its fans and media during the World Cup, the team still played across the border even if it was largely locked up in hotels due to security concerns. The PCB has made great efforts to host the Champions Trophy in a befitting manner, renovating the stadiums in Lahore and Karachi. In recent years, Pakistan has once again shown it can host international teams, including most of the world’s top sides with the exception of India. It is time India stopped using the security excuse and played in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024