Lalit and his girls: The 'best' thing to happen to cricket since....football

they reach the final. But what if they do reach the final? Some would say that this is a big ‘what if’ but they’d be ignoring the recent big ‘what if’ which prevented Pakistan’s players from playing in IPLIII.

The reason given was that the franchises could not be certain of the availability of the Pakistani players. So what do they exactly mean by that? Well, the Pakistani players would have been free from international duty in that period so this cannot have been what was meant. May be the reason is the fear that half way through the tournament, something happens in one of the two countries which would strain diplomatic relationships and heighten civil tension, causing Pakistan to call back its players for fear of attack in India. A big ‘what if’ in my opinion.

The most tasteless part of this IPL snub was that the Pakistani players were given false hope and led along until the very last minute, literally. Why did the eight franchises request the eleven Pakistani players up for selection if their policy was not to pick players that were not certain of availability? Well it is clear that something happened inbetween the period that these players were requested by the franchises and the time of the auction, and this is the sinister side to this whole situation.

With the franchises towing the same ‘non-availability’ line, it was obvious that the advice they received must of come from one source in that it was the same across the board. Clearly, all the franchises were in cahoots with one another and it was a collective and pre-planned shunning of the Pakistani players, even though this is being denied. If you are not convinced, are you telling me not one of the franchises would have been tempted by even a single bid for Afridi, Rana, Aamer or Akmal? Instead, when the names of these World Champions were read out at auction, there was complete silence in the room. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the little synaptic kerchings in Lalit Modi’s brain. It would be interesting to find out who it was that advised the franchises to make this change in policy and take this stance after they had no problem in requesting the players for auction initially.

Would the Indian crowds have turned on Pakistan's players?

When Pakistan’s players did not take part in IPLII, the argument from many IPL supporters was that it was the Pakistan government that banned the players from playing so the IPL was helpless. We argued then that even if our government had allowed the players to travel, they would have been stopped from playing somehow and that the Pakistan government merely made the decision easier for Lalit Modi. From what has happened this time around, it is clear that our belief was true.

The fact of the matter is, as soon as the time to organise IPLIII came around, those in the corridors of power began to think of ways in which to prevent Pakistan players from playing for whatever reason. The morally right thing to do would have been to begin to find ways of including them but morality isn’t something Lalit Modi will be known for I’m afraid. They waited until the end, hoping that Pakistan would prevent its players from travelling just like in IPLII, and making the decision easier for Modi and his cronies. But this time, both the PCB and the Pakistan government allowed the players to travel AND the franchises requested eleven of them to go under the hammer. As a result, something had to be done to stop them at auction and it quite clearly was.

I couldn’t care less if our players did not participate in that tournament and I certainly would not have minded had they been asked in good time, not to apply. But the immoral and degrading manner in which they were snubbed shows no class at all.

So, will the powers that be apply the same logic in the World Cup? Maybe they’ll do what they did here and leave it to the last minute hoping that Pakistan don’t make the final. But if we do make it to the final, the outcome of whether we are allowed to play will truly show us who governs world cricket.

Sidarth Monga:

“How Pakistan would want to thank BCCI for the “amnesty” it accorded the ICL players.”

“Once the euphoria of this performance dies, Pakistan will want to thank the man returning to international cricket for allowing them to go ahead with their preferred bowling strategy.”

He is an Indian fan at the end of the day, but he should keep his bias from articles on sites where it is required of him, and expected by us, that he should be impartial. In the past, cricinfo has been accused of being favourable to England and India so I am amazed the editor of cricinfo let this article through as it was.

Some may argue that Pakistan had banned its players from travelling to India so Modi had no choice. The thing is that this was a decision made in regards to the IPL and could have been reviewed and indeed lifted had the PCB been contacted and asked its position in regards to the Champions League. It seems this did not happen. We cannot therefore be too critical of the PCB in regards to knowing what was happening as they were not brought into the fold at all. What we can be critical is of their weak response thus far.

Remarkably, another BCCI official was quoted on cricinfo as saying that the decision to exclude Pakistan’s T20 domestic champions was a “precautionary one”. So what was it Lalit? Did the Pakistan government ban its players or did you as a “precautionary” measure not give them a chance? The official also gave the excuse of not having to risk pull the Pakistan team out at the last minute but could not give any realistic reasons for this happening. The BCCI can not even be sure that the tournament will be in India even though they plan to hold it there. Just like the IPL was moved away from India, the Champions League may also.

We cannot expect teams to travel to Pakistan due to the situation there but for our cricketers to be shunned like this and prevented from playing elsewhere is simply disgraceful. The ICC should be ashamed of itself. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Lalit Modi cannot be good for a united cricket international community.

What better way to answer them then to win the Twenty20 World Cup.

The ICL could have quite easily have refused the requests of the players who were under contract but have shown a gentle touch befitting this gentlemen’s game that the ICC, BCCI and other boards have lacked.

The PCB may now regret withdrawing the 3 ICL players it had included in its original World Twenty20 squad.

But was there any need to decide this early? For one, if terrorists were going to target the 2011 World Cup, the ICC has just told them not to bother planning for Pakistan but for the other three countries right?

One of the co-hosts is India. The Pakistani IPL players were recently withdrawn from the IPL because of the very fact that it was due to be held in India. So what will happen when the Pakistan team has to play 2011 World Cup matches in India? Whilst also taking into account the Terror situation in the sub-continent as a whole, don’t be surprised if the the 2011 world cup is moved away from the subcontinent to Australia and New Zealand.

Stani Army thinks this will happen, it’s just that the ICC has to let the BCCI down much slower than it does the PCB.

No doubt the BCCI will have a big say in things as will other boards whose teams may not benefit as much as Pakistan’s will with the inclusion of these exciting talents. Yet we hope the PCB stands its ground as it is only a matter of time before the ICL ban is lifted as the arguments for those against the ICL, quite simply do not stand up morally or legally.

Also included in the squad is Shoaib Akhtar. A big stage player, the up and coming five-match ODI series and a Twenty20 against Australia in the UAE will be a vital test for him prove his fitness so that his entrance to the T2O World Cup stage is guaranteed.

The final squad will be halved to 15 yet from the array of talent in the list below, it will not be something which will be easily achieved. Try picking 15 from there!

The tournament begins on the 5th of June in England.

Pakistan Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hassan, Ahmed Shehzad, Umer Amin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Aizaz Cheema, Muhammad Aamir, Wahab Riaz, Imran Ali, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Yasir Shah, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sarfraz Ahmed, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Imran Nazir

Although it was a moment when Pakistan cricket fought its corner in the world of cricket politics, two consequences have caused immeasurable damage. First, the rift between Inzamam-ul Haq and Bob Woolmer became ever wider. Second, the controversy ushered in Naseem Ashraf’s disastrous reign as head of Pakistan cricket.

It was also the year that Mohammad Yousuf claimed the record number of Test runs in a year. Yousuf batted beautifully. He was easy on the eye yet his mind was tough. He was unbeatable and unswerving in his commitment to score more runs. The best years of his career were upon us. But the plummeting trajectory of Pakistan cricket has claimed him as a major victim.

When the Indian ODI squad was announced for this tri-series there must have been more than one or two players disappointed not to have made the squad and understandably so. From the players on view in the IPL, India could have quite easily put out three one day sides and still have been competitive with each. I’m certain that all the other cricketing boards are looking on with envy and must be putting plans into place for a piece of the pie. The only problem for them is that India got there first. The other boards will not be able to find the time in their calendars or find enough world class cricketers let alone compete with the financial clout of the BCCI. The only possible solution would be for the ICC to step in and request that the quota of youngsters in each IPL franchise should be made up of youngsters from other nations also. As it stands, India will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the shorter forms of the game. It remains to be seen how the other Cricketing boards react if at all.