Sport | Cricket
Future tense for Asian cricket
Going by the political trend, the Indian government is likely to cut off all cricket ties with Pakistan for the next few years and this can affect the two big international tournaments of the International Cricket Council to be held in Asia.
- By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:35 December 22, 2008
Dubai: India's decision not to tour Pakistan for the series in January is set to plunge cricket in Asia into a deep crisis.
Going by the political trend, the Indian government is likely to cut off all cricket ties with Pakistan for the next few years and this can affect the two big international tournaments of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to be held in Asia.
Pakistan is set to stage the Champions Trophy in September next year while India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are together set to host the 2011 World Cup.
Though ICC is hoping that these events may be held as scheduled but under the present political scenario the chances are bleak.
Ehsan Mani, the former President of the ICC, who headed the international cricket body when the Asian countries were granted the rights to host the World Cup, talked to Gulf News from London on the impact that this crisis may have on Asian cricket if the tournaments are not held in the region.
“If the Indian government is going to use cricket as a political tool it would raise a huge question mark on the ability of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to deliver the 2011 ICC World Cup. The ICC will not be able to wait until the last moment to move the Cricket World Cup without it affecting its commercial partners,'' remarked Mani.
Mani feels that the impact of shifting the World Cup from Asia can be immense. “It will be a huge blow for Asian Cricket and Asia's standing in world cricket,'' he added.
“From a financial view point the host countries will lose over $25million in hosting fees and gate money which would be over $10milllion.
“The ICC would also be spending over $50million in staging costs; money which would be absorbed in the economies of the four host nations,'' said Mani, who is a Chartered Accountant and was involved in various marketing strategies of the ICC over the years.
“There impact of supporters not visiting the region would also be huge if the World Cup is moved. I would estimate that at over $50 to 75million. Conservatively, I would put the financial impact at over $150million,'' he pointed out “I would be very sad for Sharad Pawar, who is due to take over as the ICC President in 2010 and will be the President when the 2011 Cricket World Cup takes place.''
Mani, who was at the helm when sponsors and television deals were finalised following the granting of the World Cup to Asia, said: “ESPN has paid over $1billion for the media rights and would expect to recover a substantial part of this from the 2011 World Cup.
"If this is moved from Asia there might well be a claim from ESPN. Similarly, the ICC has also some major Indian sponsors who may well make a claim.''
To query whether Champions Trophy can be rescued, Mani said: “This would require quiet diplomacy by the ICC, BCCI and PCB by engaging in discussions with the governments of India and Pakistan with Sharad Pawar playing an active role.
"If the signal ICC gets is that the Government of India will not guarantee the participation of the India then they will have to make some hard decisions like playing the event without India. This will lead to large claims by the ESPN and the other ICC sponsors.
"Moving the Champion's Trophy to another country would be a further set back for Pakistan cricket and Asian cricket. In both cases it will create a big question mark on the ability of the Asian countries to host the 2011 World Cup,'' he concluded.
Mani feels that Pawar should have played a bigger role to ensure staging of the India-Pakistan series.
“Pawar is a powerful cabinet minister in the Indian government and one wonders what role he played in
trying to persuade the Government of India to allow the Indian team to tour Pakistan," he said.
"The terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks will achieve what they set out to do and that is to create tension between the two countries.
"The Indian government should have used the power of cricket to send a message that there is genuine commitment to improving relations with Pakistan.
"The ICC will now have to consider whether Indian government will allow the Indian team to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan. If it does not, I cannot see how the 2011 World Cup could be held in the subcontinent,'' he concluded.
Do you think the current crisis will impact the Indian subcontinent's chances of hosting the 2011 cricket World Cup? Will Asian cricket plunge into a crisis if the tournament is cancelled? Should governments of the host countries make more efforts to improve diplomatic relations?
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