Will the International Cricket Council (ICC) pundits give weight to Australia's reservation about security concerns in India and revise their decision to organise 2011 World Cup in the South Asian country? Tennis Australia (TA) has shattered India's dream of becoming a global sporting destination, saying that it would not send its players "into an area of such high risk."
Despite security clearance by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the TA did not care about a year ban and a hefty fine by ITF, and observed that security situation in India was as bad as in Pakistan. Such a perception can affect other sporting events to be held in India like hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in 2010 followed by 2011 Cricket World Cup. However, the TA's move could send mixed signals to the international sporting fraternity, especially the ICC.
EYE-OPENER FOR ICC However, the TA decision is an eye-opener for the ICC decision-makers, who included India, who deprived Pakistan of hosting rights of 2011 World Cup matches. It is reported that Pakistan during the meeting of ICC Board proposed that because of the security situation in the South Asian region, the 2011 World Cup be held in Australia and New Zealand while the 2015 event in South Asia.
But the PCB proposal was rejected by the ICC Board, as the other three co-hosts, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, were not willing to surrender their hosting rights. Now the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has served legal notice on the ICC, challenging its decision to move World Cup matches to India. Reacting to the PCB legal notice, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat rejected the PCB claim, saying: "We are naturally disappointed that the PCB has chosen to pursue its grievance with the ICC through legal channels but, having received correspondence from its lawyers, we have now responded.
"We used our response to clarify inaccuracies and misunderstandings in the PCB's claim, including confirmation of the fact that the agenda and the Board papers for the recent ICC Board meetings did very specifically raise the question of whether the World Cup 2011 matches assigned to the PCB as joint hosts should be relocated outside of Pakistan.
"We also pointed out that the ICC Board agreed only that the matches should be moved away from Pakistan, not that the PCB should be removed from its position as a joint host of the event itself.
BACK CHANNEL DIPLOMACY: Meanwhile, PCB chief Ijaz Butt left on a South Asian tour to try to muster support in battle against the ICC's decision. The PCB said the decision to remove Pakistan to co-host 14 matches contravened the ICC articles and the 2006 agreement that awarded the competition jointly to Pakistan Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
Butt flew first to Sri Lanka following former ICC President Ehsan Mani's suggestion to keep "back-channel communications" with the ICC and its member countries open throughout the dispute. The PCB, in a letter to ICC Dispute Resolution Committee referred to the legal flaws, and that the matter could be taken to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) - a global body based to solve sports related disputes - if the need arises.
Ehsan Mani, who was critical of the ICC decision, lambasted the ICC for isolating Pakistan, and termed the decision of the ICC Board as "ill conceived and a hasty decision which was not on the agenda of the last month's Board meeting."
Mani criticised the ICC for not taking the PCB into confidence before the board's meeting. "There was no pre-meeting dialogue with the PCB and the ICC should have taken the lead in that. "I said to the ICC you should have thought of alternative solutions. They said the PCB had not put any such proposal forward but the ICC should have been examining these things."
FINANCIAL LOSSES: Mani also acknowledged the legal action by the PCB had strained relationship with the ICC. "The PCB was between a rock and a hard place. The PCB will be losing the hosting money - what was their choice? "Roll over quietly, or make some noise? Pakistan feel they were misled at the meeting and had no idea what was going to happen. One should have been upfront about it," Mani said.
He said even before the attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore, foreign teams had refused to tour Pakistan over security fears. In February, the ICC was forced to move the eight-nation Champions Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa, he added.
COURT MOVED: Meanwhile, senior judge of Lahore civil court Mohammad Younus Anees has issued a stay order against the relocation of the World Cup secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai until June 2.
The order said: "The World Cup tournament director is restrained from operating the secretariat from any other place in any other city/country till the next hearing. According to PCB legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi the Lahore court order stops any operations on the World Cup."The fact raised by the petitioner (PCB) needs consideration," said the order.
Rizvi further said ICC President David Morgan requested the PCB chairman not to have a one-sided decision against the ICC. The ICC representative requested for an adjournment of the case, he added. Taffazul said the PCB would have to fight all out against a decision, which was legally flawed and to step up "our pressure, we have sued the ICC, IDI and the Central Organising Committee World Cup 2011," he said. "Pakistan can also claim a relief on the relocation of the secretariat," said the legal adviser.
LORGAT UNNERVED: ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "We are naturally disappointed that the PCB has chosen to pursue its grievance with the ICC through legal channels but, having received correspondence from its lawyers, we have now responded.
"We used our response to clarify inaccuracies and misunderstandings in the PCB's claim, including confirmation of the fact that the matter relating to the World Cup 2011 was on the agenda of the meeting."
The PCB has said it was given no prior warning of the decision, made at a meeting on April 17. "We also pointed out that the ICC Board agreed only that the matches should be moved away from Pakistan, not that the PCB should be removed from its position as a joint host of the event itself," Lorgat added.
ICC'S U-TURN: In another development, the ICC further advised Pakistan to pinpoint alternate venues to get 10 million-dollar fee for organising World Cup matches. However, it is expected that Pakistan will Abu Dhabi and Dubai as possible venues.
Lorgat said the ICC Board had not decided to remove the PCB as a joint host of the event, but only that the matches assigned to the PCB should be played outside Pakistan. "We need to deliver a tournament that is safe, secure and, above all, successful and it was on that basis that the decision was taken that matches could not be played in Pakistan," added Lorgat.
MIANDAD'S VIEWS: One may recall that PCB Director-General Javed Miandad, referring to the TA's decision, said the ICC should shift the 2011 World Cup out of Asia. The former Pakistan captain said there was no justification for the ICC to move the World Cup matches out of Pakistan, as the security situation in India was also not stable.
PRESSURE ON PCB: Meanwhile, the PCB) under tremendous pressure of cricket circles, including former captain Zaheer Abbas and game watchers, to boycott the World Cup, but former Test pacer Sikandar Bakht opposed the notion that Pakistan could not afford to boycott the mega event, but supported those suggesting that the PCB should refuse to play World Cup matches in India and shift all their matches to other venues.
But it seems that the ICC is in no mood to take on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and the other boycotting nations and has decided to appease them at all cost. Cricket circles are of the opinion that because of hostile attitude of the Indian officials and crowd, the PCB should insist upon the ICC to relocate Pakistan's matches preferably to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.