"We’re here to honour your invitation"

5:20 pm: There they are. In another bus, this time, escorted by a jeep full of commandoes. There’s a hush. In comes Salim Malik, the most controversial of Pakistan’s cricketers, and ironically, the first to face Indian cameras on this historic tour. He climbs up the steps to the lobby, looks slightly lost and pauses. Then, coach Javed Miandad joins him followed by their high-profile new manager, Shahryar Khan. The former Pakistan Foreign Secretary looks upat the cameras and cracks a one-liner. The ice is broken, the cameramen start screaming for group photos and the security takes over.

Pakistan’s historic Indian tour is hardly a few minutes old and Shahryar Khan has already slipped into his new role quite comfortably. And, it was obvious at the following press conference that the suave diplomat will play a key role in shaping the future of this cricketing encounter.

“We are here to honour your invitation and to promote good relations between the two countries… We have come to vindicate the honour of our country and to give dignity to the game and establish sporting contacts,” said Khan, stamping out all volatile questions smoothly, with a confident smile.

After Shahryar Khan — flanked by skipper Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi — put out a polished show, referring occasionally to handwritten notes from a pad, a foreign journalist turned to Akram and asked him how the team would react in case of anunsavoury incident during the tour. Before the captain could open his mouth, Khan cut in smoothly: “We will cross the bridge when we reach it.”

There was also a PR effort for Pakistan Prime Minister as the cricket manager implied that the tour had come about only due to Nawaz Sharif’s efforts. “The Prime Minister met me this morning and explained that it was his decision to send the team despite all the problems.” According to Khan, the Prime Minister reached the decision only after great deliberation.

On the security arrangements here, Khan said: “That is completely in the hands of the Indian Government.” Then he turned towards his team, saying, “Never in the history of sports, has a team come amidst such a daunting atmosphere. So I want to pay tribute to my players who have the courage and conviction to come here despite so many pressures and problems.”

So with almost all possible problem fronts sewn up comfortably, Khan finally handed the stage to Wasim Akram for questions on cricket.

Theonly uncomfortable moment for the Pakistanis thereafter was when a question popped up on the match-fixing allegations hovering over the skipper. “I have left all that back home,” was the curt reply.

Describing his team as a mixture of youth and experience, Akram said: “We are here for a win. We’ll play positive.” On the stress of playing in such an atmosphere, Akram admitted: “It’s a different kind of pressure.” And playing India in India? “There is always something extra. That has been the tradition, but we’re looking forward to it,” he said with a smile.

There was a burst of laughter soon as Akram was asked about memories of his last trip here. “I was too young then. The only thing I remember is the wickets were too slow.” And that seemed to be a concern this time too for the Pakistanis, as Akram hoped the wickets were more sporting this time. Waqar Younis just nodded dangerously.