BJP’s feel-good yorker targets tour to Pak

BJP spokesman Law Minister Arun Jaitley feigned ignorance about what is going on when he met reporters today. He said: ‘‘It is for the BCCI to decide. It needs the clearance of the External Affairs ministry and the Sports ministry.’’

Whe asked if a bad performance by the Indian team in Pakistan would affect BJP’s ‘‘feel-good’’ plank, he said, ‘‘these factors don’t affect the party for all parties would be cheering the Indian team.’’

But Minister of State for Home Swami Chinmayanand gave it a new spin when he told Aaj Tak: “Earlier when the tour was decided, there was no evidence of transfer of nuclear technology. But recent happenings in Pakistan have made us rethink on the security of our players.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board was not willing to comment officially on the prospect of a deferred tour. ‘‘We haven’t received any information’’, media manager Sami-ul Hasan told The Indian Express. But PCB officials hinted they may approach the icc for remedy if the Indian team backed out of the tour at the eleventh hour on grounds of security.

PCB officials were toying with the possibility of the series being split into Tests, played before the elections, and the more volatile one-day series after the polls. One official even said the news coming out of India could be a pressure tactic to get Peshawar and Karachi off the list of Test venues.

After having taken care of its electoral calculations, the Government is keen on minimising the collateral damage — which a postponement of matches would cause to the Prime Minister’s peace initiative. He had himself proposed a ‘‘resumption of bilateral sporting encounters including cricket’’ in his peace proposals to Pakistan on October 22, 2003. He had obviously not factored in the ‘‘feel-good’’ factor after the election results of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The advance three-member team, which had gone to do a recce of the ground situation and security arrangements, would give its report to the government next week.

The advance team — including Joint Director (VIP Security) in IB Yashovardhan Azad, joint secretary (BCCI) Ratnakar Shetty and Director (Communications) Amrit Mathur — is returning from Pakistan on February 16 after surveying all the venues and talking to local security agencies.

But the decision to postpone the series, sources say, is political and not related to security concerns.

But what would make things tough for the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is the packed cricket schedule ahead (see box). If India has to go to Pakistan after the polls, the BCCI will have to cancel the Bangladesh tour scheduled for April. Even then, given the weather, the days the board can juggle around will be most unfriendly for cricket in the subcontinent.

The decision to delay the tour, sources maintained, was purely political and the Home Ministry had not given any formal or informal advice to the Government. ‘‘Even now we have no problems in going ahead with the matches,’’ highly placed sources said. The Ministry of External Affairs also washed its hands of the matter. Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said, ‘‘Decisions on specific events are for each sporting association or board to take.’’

The BCCI today said it would abide by the government’s advice on the Indian cricket team’s tour of Pakistan. ‘‘Whatever advice we receive from the government, we will abide by that,’’ BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya.

He said he was yet to receive any communication from the government. ‘‘As of now I have not received any communication, written or verbal, from the government.’’

When contacted, ICC spokesperson Brendan McClements said ‘‘as far as we are concerned the tour is on’’. Asked about compensation claims and/or any other sanction against the BCCI, he said such a decision would be taken ‘‘only if we come to a situation when the tour is cancelled.’’