OUTLOOK-CFORE POLL ON INDIA'S CRICKETTOUR TO PAKISTAN
77% Say Yes To Cricket
Safety fears aside, mostIndians want the Indo-Pak match-up to go onwin or lose
The Board of Cricket Control's team to assess security measures for the upcoming Indiancricket tour of Pakistan has expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the hosts."We are satisfied with the measures being planned by Pakistan," said BCCI jointsecretary Ratnakar Shetty, part of the three-member delegation, which includedYashovardhan Azad, Inspector General of Police, ministry of home affairs.
Will that be comfort enough for players like Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, who,according to news reports, are on the hit list of the jehadis? Tasneem Noorani, secretaryin the Pakistan interior ministry, has announced that his country was not aware of anyspecific threats issued by militant groups to disrupt the Indian tour. But what do theIndian people think? The Outlook Cfore poll in six cities, 15 years after the lastIndian cricket tour of Pakistan, found the public divided on the issue of the team beingin danger. Forty-three per cent feared for the players while 48 per cent thought there wasno security threat.
A significant majorityover two-thirdsof those surveyed want the tour to go onand believe cricket can only be good for Indo-Pak ties. Our respondents are alsosurprisingly sporting cricket fans. More than three-fourths of our respondents said thetour should go on, even if India isn't confident of beating Pakistan. And even if Indialoses, the "feelgood factor" will not be affected.
And they feel for the men who go out and represent India on Pakistani fields. Fifty-nineper cent believe Indian cricketers are under too much pressure when they play the men fromacross the LoC. And they think it's unfair. Unfortunately, this belief isn't going to doanything to lower the pressure on Ganguly and his men.
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Do you want the India cricket tour to Pakistan cancelled? | |
Yes | 15 |
No | 77 |
Cant say | 8 |
Do you think India and Pakistan playing cricket with each other helps improve relations between the two countries? | |
Yes | 71 |
No | 18 |
Cant say | 11 |
Is there a security threat for players like Ganguly and Tendulkar in Pakistan? | |
Yes | 43 |
No | 48 |
Cant say | 9 |
If India is not confident of winning in Pakistan, is it better to cancel the tour? | |
Yes | 18 |
No | 76 |
Cant say | 6 |
If India loses in Pakistan, will it dent the feelgood factor in the country? | |
Yes | 24 |
No | 60 |
Cant say | 16 |
It is believed there is too much pressure on players when they play Pakistan. Do you think this is unfair and the players should not be subjected to it? | |
Yes | 59 |
No | 24 |
Cant say | 17 |
All figures in percentage | |
Methodology | |
Cfore conducted the opinion poll in six metrosDelhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore and Hyderabad. A randomly selected sample of 719 among Sec-A and Sec-B categories in these cities were interviewed using a structured questionnaire on February 10 and 11. |