Cricket Diplomacy

So it seems to be the season for diplomacy now. First the political kind, and now it seems to be back to the ye-olde cricket-diplomacy perfected by the late (but not lamented) General Zia.

Pakistan Cricket Board has apparently welcomed Indian government's decision to allow its team to play Pakistan in multi-lateral series and has now (guess what!) come up with a proposal for a quadrangular tournament next year to be jointly hosted by both countries.

But we should also take note of the "momentous" achievement (a solitary one, it would seem) of the just-concluded ACC meet before we get down to diplomacy. Actually, that is er, quite diplomatic, as well.

Consider this: the presidents of the cricket boards of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who met during the two-day ACC meeting that concluded today, have (gasp)agreed that in case a team failed to honour its commitment of playing another, it is desirable that it should compensate the affected team. The details needless to say, are to be worked out later by a sub-committee.

Pakistan had been demanding such a compensation clause to be included in the International Cricket Council's ten-year calendar.

Anyway, back to Indo-Pak plans. As the agency reports said, the idea is to cement cricket ties between the two countries.

"The Indian authorities have shown flexibility in furthering cricket ties with pakistan and have taken initiatives in this regard by agreeing to allow their team to play Pakistan in multi-lateral tournaments. PCB welcomes this," PCB chief Lt. Gen Tauqir Zia told reporters in Lahore after the completion of a two-day conference of the Asian Cricket Council.

To further cement cricketing ties between the two countries, Zia said, ACC was planning to organise a quadrangular one-day series involving West Indies and Zimbabwe apart from india and pakistan to be played in February next year.

"West indies is visiting Pakistan early next year and Zimbabwe will be in india. It is a good opportunity to organise a tournament involving all the four countries," Zia said, adding helpfully that the tournament could be played in both the countries.

Zia added en passant that pakistan was not unduly worried about indian government's ban on bilateral series.

"We are not bothered whether india plays us or not. If they do not want to play us we are also not interested in playing them."

Quite an interesting thought this to ponder over, isn't it? I mean, here we are, making all those friendly noises full of bonhomie and bon vivant, talking about cementing cricketing ties and what not and in the same breath, almost without pausing, adding the above.

Makes one gasp, doesn't it? Sort of like what Messrs. Vajpayee and gang say about respecting democracy, boycotting the military dictators (across the Wagah divide, not on our northeastern frontiers) and other such high falutin stuff, and then suddenly doing a perfect somersault -- the kind we wish our athletes were capable of -- taking a U-turn, if you'll pardon me mixing my metaphors -- come up with invites to travel the high road together and such like. Begums (not specified whether or not dogs) included.

Anyway, since the matters involved are complex, and the time available to me short, all I have to humbly propose is that now that Shri Laloo Prasad Yadav is firmly ensconsed as some big honcho or the other of Bihar Cricket Council, we should immediately enlist his services in addition to those of Mr. Mutthiah and gang. Afterall, we aren't talking about mere chicken or cattle fodder are we? It is in the end a matter of proper utilisation of $6.5 million provided by International Cricket Council for development of the game in the region and I am sure we'd all agree that Laloo's vast administrative experience will come in handy.

It would be nice for Mr. Lele to have a sense of competition too, wouldn't it? Makes for a nice alliterative flourish too -- From Lele to Laloo.

Then we shall see what the PCB is made of, all that perfect military training and pucca Brit-accents notwithstanding.