New Delhi: The much-awaited India-Pakistan World Twenty20 clash is in jeopardy after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed its inability to provide security for the match, leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a bind with board secretary Anurag Thakur saying that the state should not “play politics”.
The March 19 game is to be played in Dharamsala but its fate is now uncertain after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh wrote to the Home Ministry, stating that the state government cannot provide security for the match.
Reacting sharply to Singh’s statement, Thakur, who is also a BJP MP in Lok Sabha, said the state knew of the schedule months in advance and did not specify any such concerns at that time.
“The venues of the World Cup matches were decided one year ago, the allotment of matches was decided six months ago. People all over have made bookings and it is not fair to give such statements at the last minute,” Thakur told reporters here.
“The Congress-led state government is clearly playing politics. Hundreds of Pakistan athletes were given security during the South Asian Games in Assam, why can’t the Himachal government do the same?” Thakur asked.
“By claiming that you cannot provide security, you are only giving credence to Pakistan claims that there is a security threat to their team in India. It’s about the country’s image, you cannot play politics over it,” he added.
On Monday, the Himachal Pradesh Congress had asked the BCCI to either cancel the proposed match or shift the venue.
The party claimed that since Kangra is home to a large number of soldiers, including Kargil War heroes like Captain Vikram Batra and Captain Saurabh Kalia, hosting the Pakistan team would hurt the sentiments of martyrs’ families.
Meanwhile, as Australia and South Africa put their plans through a dry run in a three-match Twenty20 series in South Africa, and the visiting skipper Steve Smith hopes the pitches mirror those the two teams will find in the mega-event to be hosted by India next month.
The Australian team landed in South Africa on Tuesday morning but in his pre-departure media address, Smith clearly showed how keen the Aussies are to add the world title that’s missing from their cabinet.
“For us, this series is just about playing some T20 cricket together,” Smith said. “We haven’t played a great deal together for a couple of years and it’s a great opportunity to try and gel together as a unit before the [T20] World Cup.”
The pitches in India are expected to be good for batting but the slow nature of the tracks in the subcontinent has always assisted the spinners, and Smith hoped the curator in South Africa keeps that in mind.
