da apostebet： Former Pakistan stalwarts accused New Delhi of double standards andbelieved that India had pulled out of the Asian Test Championshipbecause they were afraid of losing
23-Aug-2001Former Pakistan stalwarts accused New Delhi of double standards andbelieved that India had pulled out of the Asian Test Championshipbecause they were afraid of losing. Intikhab Alam, a former captainand coach, said: “It’s a senseless decision. In my personal opinion,the Indians are afraid of losing to Pakistan.”Hasib Ahsan, another vocal Test off-spinner, went a step ahead when hesuspected Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) involvement inthe withdrawal. “I suspect that BCCI themselves asked their governmentnot to clear the tour because they know they can’t go anywhere afterlosing to Pakistan in Lahore,” he said.Pakistan had thrashed India in the inaugural Asian Test Championshipfixture at Kolkata in near silence. India were last year bulldozed byMoin Khan’s men in the Asia Cup one-day tournament in Dhaka. Pakistanwon both the titles while India failed to qualify for the finals.The Indians have suffered a string of defeats after their historicsuccess against the Australians at home. They lost the one-daytournament finals in Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka while lost the first Testat Galle by 10 wickets. “If India thinks that Kashmir issue would beresolved by not playing cricket, then they are foolish,” Hasibcontinued, adding: “India has mixed sports and politics and I knew itfrom the last two to three months that they have no plan to come toPakistan.”Intikhab said: “This decision spells politics and politicians would bethe only gainers and cricket will be the loser.” Intikhab questionedNew Delhi’s policy of only targeting cricket. “Yasin Merchant won theAsian snooker championship in Karachi in June while an Indian playerappeared in a squash tournament in Peshawar earlier this month. InOctober, India will be sending its contingent for the SAF Games. Butwhen it comes to playing cricket, they disallow permission.”New Delhi’s policies and logic are mindboggling in the backgroundthat they had said in April that they had no objection if India playsPakistan in any multinational tournaments,” Intikhab said.Intikhab demanded New Delhi to spell out its policy and come out cleanrather than confusing the situation and playing ping pong withPakistan. However, the former Surrey player felt that since all thethree Asian countries have won World Cups, they needed to play againsteach other more often to form a formidable Asian block.Wasim Akram, under whose captaincy Pakistan won the Chennai andKolkata Tests in 1999, wondered if he would get another chance to playa Test against India. “I don’t know if I will get a chance to playthem again. I am in the twilight of my career and time is not in myhand. That’s precisely why I was keen and geared up for the LahoreTest,” Wasim, who was also a member of Imran Khan’s 1986-87 BangaloreTest winning team, said.Wasim said New Delhi’s decision has not only dampened the hopes anddreams of cricketers of the two countries, it has also spoiled theparty of billions of fans.”If the Australians or the Englishmen dream to play in the Ashes,cricketers from Pakistan and India like to play against each other.Similarly, there is probably more interest in the followers of thegame when India and Pakistan lock horns rather than Australia facingEngland,” Wasim said.PCB Cautious: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reacted cautiously tothe fate of two other assignments involving India after New Delhireportedly withdrew its team from the Asian Test Championship startingAug 29.Pakistan `A’ is scheduled to tour India in Nov while traditionalrivals are to jointly host a quadrangular tournament next year inMarch, also involving the West Indies and Zimbabwe. While the PCBofficials restrained from any comments on New Delhi’s decision, theysaid a formal invitation from India regarding the Pakistan `A’ team’stour was still awaited.”As regards the quadrangular tournament, that stage at present is toofar away. Let’s see how the winds blow in the days to come,” directorof the PCB, Brig Munawar Rana, said from Lahore. Brig Rana, on India’swithdrawal, said since the highest authorities in India have taken thedecision, Pakistan’s response would be issued by Islamabad. He,however, admitted that a statement from the foreign office wasexpected sometime Wednesday evening.The PCB official said India had informally invited to host Pakistan`A’. He, nevertheless, added that once a formal invitation isreceived, it will be considered keeping in mind the present situation.