India, Pak and the World Cup

As the fourth day of the second Test draws to a close here, there seems to be a lot of speculation about the changing cricket relations between India and Pakistan.

As the fourth day of the second Test draws to a close here, there seems to be a lot of speculation about the changing cricket relations between India and Pakistan, which after the cancellation of next month’s tour, leave the 2011 World Cup on tenterhooks as well. While looking three years ahead can be dangerous in these turbulent times, many believe it’ll be difficult to ignore pleas from Australia and New Zealand that they stage the mega event in a bid to resolve this issue.

The ICC is worried but its plan for the future has to be based on important lessons from the past. Cricket’s governing body had faced similar predicaments on two previous occasions, and both times things had moved smoothly enough. The India-Pakistan-Sri-Lanka-Bangaldesh 2011 World Cup has to borrow experiences from 1996 World Cup, which India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka hosted together, and the 1987 World Cup, which was staged by bitter rivals India and Pakistan.

Relations on neither occasion were too much better because of cross-border issues, but the show didn’t stop. Luckily, circumstances in 1987 were such that neither the Indian nor Pakistani teams had to fly into the other’s territory, or even play each other. But in 1996, India hosted Pakistan to that memorable quarter-final in Bangalore, where Ajay Jadeja’s innings saw the hosts through. In that tournament, Australia and West Indies had refused to tour Sri Lanka, and though they were docked points, the format of the tournament allowed both to qualify for the next stage without much ado.

“The 2011 World Cup is a long way off, and I’m sure it will be a success,” said David Morgan, the ICC president, just the other day. The ICC has, apart from considerable time, the wherewithal to format the tournament to ensure minimal friction between India and Pakistan while they host the event, providing teams reluctant to touring Pakistan — though at the moment they number five out of 10 — ample room for it to go ahead without looking like a farce.

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