26/11 still casts a shadow on Indo-Pak cricket ties

July 17, 2012

indopakcricket


One of cricket's greatest rivalries is all set to resume as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited Pakistan to travel to India for a One Day International and T-20 series in December. The invitation by the cricketing body assumes significance because the bilateral ties between the neighbours have been in cold storage since the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.


The 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai not only altered its landscape, but also left behind a trail of devastation. And the fallout of the coordinated strike by terrorists from across the border also ensured cricketing ties between India and Pakistan were brought to a grinding halt.


However, it will change with the BCCI announcing that Pakistan will visit in December to play three ODIs and two T-20s. The mini series will be played between December 23 and January 9, 2013. While Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi will host the three ODIs, the two T-20 internationals will be played at Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

Reacting to the decision of the BCCI, Ministry of External Affairs sources said, "This is an in-principle decision of the BCCI and PCB. There remain security concerns. Both boards have to indicate the dates and locations for clearances including security issues."


Though no Ministry official came on record to say anything on the BCCI's announcement, in private they express their reservations citing Pakistan's failure to deliver on India's demands, including action against Mumbai terror accused.


Pakistan is yet to punish those involved in the 26/11 attack and that country has not conceded to India's demand for giving voice samples of the handlers and masterminds of the terror strike, they said.


The terror infrastructure across the border continues to flourish unabated while Pakistan-based militants groups keep sending their armed cadres to Jammu and Kashmir, they said.


The development did not appear to go down well with many other as well.


Former Indian captain and legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said there was no urgency to invite Pakistan to play in the country. He said, "Being a Mumbaikar, I feel what is the urgency when there is no co-operation from the other side?"


The Maharashtra Congress too hit out at the BCCI over the decision. State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre said, "The country and the BCCI should be one. The BCCI can not go against country, and they should take a decision which the country wants."


The decision also provided some ammunition to the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to attack the government.


BJP leader Kirti Azad said, "It is not a problem with playing with anyone I just want to ask them that what new has happened. The government must answer this. We have provided all the evidences to them but they didn’t take any action."


"I accept that sports is a medium to improve ties but it cannot be misused… I don’t think it is a welcome step, this is a very serious issue," he further said.


The BJP also said that along with the players of the Pakistani cricket team, the terrorists involved in the 26/11 attack should also be brought to India.


BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said, "The Pakistan cricket team had come to India earlier for the World Cup. The team of terrorists involved in the 26/11 attack should also be brought to India."


However, the Home Ministry is yet to receive a formal communication from the BCCI on the proposed cricket series. However, a decision on extending an elaborate security cover for the visiting Pakistani team would be taken by the Home Ministry once it gets official intimation from the cricket board, officials said.


If the government takes a political decision, the machinery will implement it, they said.



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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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News Network
February 19,2020

Feb 19: India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday dropped enough hints to indicate that seniormost pacer Ishant Sharma and young opener Prithvi Shaw will be in the playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington. If India's net session on Wednesday is taken into consideration, Wriddhiman Saha is starting as the wicketkeeper ahead of Rishabh Pant for the series opener beginning on Friday. Hanuma Vihari, the team's designated No 6 batsman for away Tests, will be the fifth bowling option with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant being three specialist pacers.

Ravichandran Ashwin is in the mix for the lone specialist spinner's spot though Ravindra Jadeja's all-round skills can't be ignored either.

Ishant, who was out for three weeks with an ankle injury sustained during a Ranji Trophy game, bowled full tilt at the nets and even earned appreciation for troubling batsmen with his pace and bounce.

"He (Ishant) looked pretty normal and pretty similar to what he was bowling before the ankle injury. He is hitting good areas again and he has played (Test cricket) in New Zealand couple of times, so his experience will be useful to us. It was really good to see him bowling with pace and in good areas," Kohli said during his media interaction.

The skipper also said in as many words that the team wouldn't like to change Shaw's natural stroke-play which was a good enough hint that Shubman Gill will have to warm the benches for now.

"Prithvi is a talented player and he has his own game and we want him to follow his instincts and play the way he does. Look, these guys have no baggage and are not desperate to perform in any manner," the skipper said.

The skipper wants Shaw to take a leaf out of Mayank Agarwal's performance in Australia back in 2018-19 when he hit back to back half-centuries in Melbourne and Sydney.

"They don't have any nerves to do well overseas. Like a clear head with which Mayank played in Australia, Prithvi can do the same in New Zealand.

"A bunch of guys playing with fearlessness, something that can motivate the whole team, gives us start that the team wants and not get intimidated by the opposition in any way."

The skipper downplayed India's below-par show in the three-match ODI series, especially that of Agarwal.

"Prithvi, I think you can call him relatively inexperienced and Mayank, I wouldn't call him that inexperienced because he has scored a lot of runs last year. So he understands what his game is like in Test cricket.

"I think sometimes in white ball cricket we try to do too much but once you come into red ball cricket, you fall into that disciplined mode of batting, which obviously suits him much more at this stage."

While he didn't give an answer on the Saha-Pant debate, the burly Delhi keeper had precious little to do at the main nets and was seen spending more time doing his keeping drills and only got an opportunity to bat when the first team completed its routines.

New Zealand are likely to go with an all-pace attack but the Indian captain wants to stick to his team's strengths which is play with one spinner in the four-pronged bowling attack.

"If it had been a Johannesburg pitch, I could have said it's a possibility (to play four pacers) but our team has that skill that we can bowl out other teams with only three fast bowlers," he sounded confident.

"But you need one world class skillful spinner, who can take wickets on any pitch. We won't copy the home team. We would rather figure out what is the most lethal combination, which gives us balance," he added.

"As a bowling group it's better than the one that came to NZ last time and that is why we have got so many teams all out in last two and half years. We would like to repeat that here also," Kohli added.

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