Does cricket make for good diplomacy? Does cricket between India and Pakistan make for good foreign policy? We seem ready to find out as the government of India has reportedly approved the resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan, despite protests from some sections in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, after Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Shahryar Khan met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Tuesday.
India and Pakistan have not been involved in a full-fledged tour since 2007, largely due to political reasons. India had cancelled bilateral ties with Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008. After that, attempts to revive cricketing ties had resulted in India hosting Pakistan in 2012-'13 for a limited over series of two T20s and three ODIs. Beyond that, the teams have played each other only during International Cricket Council approved events such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan fans got some much needed good news last week when Zimbabwe agreed to be the first Test-playing nation to tour the country since March 2009. While Pakistan hoped that Zimbabwe’s decision would inspire other countries to follow suit, the two teams are likely to play each other in the United Arab Emirates in December.
A distant goal
The recent discussions started on a bad note. On May 9, Khan, was stopped by immigration officials at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on his arrival from Dhaka – where Pakistan was playing Bangladesh – because he chose to enter India through an unapproved route.
Khan has a valid visa for India but Pakistani nationals can only travel through one of the four routes approved by the government – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar. Khan was allowed to enter Kolkata as a “special case” after the home ministry intervened to allow his meeting with BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya.
"We resume the India-Pak series in UAE. This is the re-beginning of the revival of Indo-Pak cricket”, Khan had proudly told reporters after his meeting with Dalmiya. “The series will start in December as per schedule and it will comprise three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. ”
Where to play
"As per the Memorandum of Understanding, there will be five series between the two countries in eight years", Khan had said. Dalmiya had wanted the first series to be played in India.
On Wednesday, Khan met BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, who chose to remain tight-lipped. "We discussed some issues. Dialogue has just started, much needs to be decided upon," he said. "We had a detailed discussion on when and where to host the series, and once it is decided, we will go back to the government for a final go-ahead."
He added, “It is impossible to play the series in Pakistan, while we need permission from government to play at a neutral venue.” Khan, on his part, quoted the MOU. "It clearly says that the first series will be hosted by Pakistan in UAE and BCCI agreed to that."
"India used to be hesitant in coming to UAE for the matches but ever since they had their IPL in UAE, I think their reservation have been resolved,” Khan said.
Venue and broadcast rights
The note of optimism may have given cricket fans reasons to cheer, but unresolved issues of broadcast and hosting rights remain to be finalised. Specifically it boils down to PCB’s series-by-series association with Ten Sports, a channel owned by entrepreneur Subhash Chandra. The BCCI, specifically Dalmiya, is unhappy with Chandra over his recent determination to launch a rival cricket league – both domestically and internationally – to BCCI’s ongoing Indian Premier League.
Both Chandra and Dalmiya go back a long way. In 2004, BCCI and Zee Telefilms – owned by Chandra – were caught in a legal tussle. The BCCI had annulled the bidding process in which Zee Telefilms had emerged the highest bidder for matches played in India during 2004-'08. Later in September of 2004, Chandra filed a police complaint against Dalmiya, alleging that the latter had issued "life-threats" to him over the phone.
Another sour point in the relations between the two was Chandra’s Indian Cricket League that preceded the Indian Premier League. It operated from 2007 to 2009 before the BCCI stepped in and shut it down. With rumours once again heating up of a rival league to be started by Chandra, the two are at loggerheads.
Money Matters
A lot is at stake. About a month ago, the PCB sold the telecast rights to Ten Sports for $150 million over a period of five years. The next highest bid was $90 million.
“Ten Sports offered us $60 million more and won the rights in the most transparent manner," Khan said in New Delhi. “Now, if we let some other network telecast the matches, we will be inviting a legal problem."
The PCB is opposed to playing the first of the five series in India as it will mean parting with some of the revenues earned from the series. “Why should we do that? We all know that India-Pakistan matches are the most lucrative of all the cricket matches. As it is, the Indian board is quite rich”, said a PCB member, choosing to remain anonymous. “Why should we compromise with our opportunity to make some money?”
Asked about the broadcast rights being a hindrance for the upcoming series in December, Khan told the Press Trust of India, “No. I must explain that we will be dealing with the issue in the next few weeks and hopefully we will find a resolution to that. It is not so much with the Government of India. It is the BCCI and the broadcasters. We will jointly try to overcome it and I'm hopeful we can.”
Divided BJP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be determined to get relations with Pakistan going, but the Bhartiya Janata Party is split over the decision. BJP member of Parliament and former Home Secretary RK Singh opposed the series and brought up the issue during zero hour in Parliament on Monday. “A country which is giving shelters to the terrorists, who have attacked and had carried out bomb blasts against us, what is a point of playing cricket with that country, I don’t understand.”
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday had welcomed his comments. "This issue was raised by Bal Thackeray Ji and has always been raised by us," Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader, told ANI. "Now if Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are picking up this issue and are not in favour of cricket matches with Pakistan, then we welcome it."
Another BJP member and ex-cricket Kirti Azad also opposed the resumption of ties.
Snapshot
India may not have played a full series against Pakistan from 2007 but now is a good time to look back at the past. It is time to remember that over the years, in both Tests and ODIs, Pakistan has consistently outplayed India. The only exception is that in six encounters in World Cups, India has never lost to Pakistan.
Taffazul Rizvi, PCB's legal adviser, told the media upon hearing the news of the go ahead, "People here in Pakistan are excited. It will be huge series. PCB is looking forward to it."
PCB's Director of Cricket Operations, Zakir Khan said, "good for Pakistan cricket. Shahryar is in India and pushing for the series. It's a personal victory for him."
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India and Pakistan have not been involved in a full-fledged tour since 2007, largely due to political reasons. India had cancelled bilateral ties with Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008. After that, attempts to revive cricketing ties had resulted in India hosting Pakistan in 2012-'13 for a limited over series of two T20s and three ODIs. Beyond that, the teams have played each other only during International Cricket Council approved events such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan fans got some much needed good news last week when Zimbabwe agreed to be the first Test-playing nation to tour the country since March 2009. While Pakistan hoped that Zimbabwe’s decision would inspire other countries to follow suit, the two teams are likely to play each other in the United Arab Emirates in December.
A distant goal
The recent discussions started on a bad note. On May 9, Khan, was stopped by immigration officials at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on his arrival from Dhaka – where Pakistan was playing Bangladesh – because he chose to enter India through an unapproved route.
Khan has a valid visa for India but Pakistani nationals can only travel through one of the four routes approved by the government – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar. Khan was allowed to enter Kolkata as a “special case” after the home ministry intervened to allow his meeting with BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya.
"We resume the India-Pak series in UAE. This is the re-beginning of the revival of Indo-Pak cricket”, Khan had proudly told reporters after his meeting with Dalmiya. “The series will start in December as per schedule and it will comprise three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. ”
Where to play
"As per the Memorandum of Understanding, there will be five series between the two countries in eight years", Khan had said. Dalmiya had wanted the first series to be played in India.
On Wednesday, Khan met BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, who chose to remain tight-lipped. "We discussed some issues. Dialogue has just started, much needs to be decided upon," he said. "We had a detailed discussion on when and where to host the series, and once it is decided, we will go back to the government for a final go-ahead."
He added, “It is impossible to play the series in Pakistan, while we need permission from government to play at a neutral venue.” Khan, on his part, quoted the MOU. "It clearly says that the first series will be hosted by Pakistan in UAE and BCCI agreed to that."
"India used to be hesitant in coming to UAE for the matches but ever since they had their IPL in UAE, I think their reservation have been resolved,” Khan said.
Venue and broadcast rights
The note of optimism may have given cricket fans reasons to cheer, but unresolved issues of broadcast and hosting rights remain to be finalised. Specifically it boils down to PCB’s series-by-series association with Ten Sports, a channel owned by entrepreneur Subhash Chandra. The BCCI, specifically Dalmiya, is unhappy with Chandra over his recent determination to launch a rival cricket league – both domestically and internationally – to BCCI’s ongoing Indian Premier League.
Both Chandra and Dalmiya go back a long way. In 2004, BCCI and Zee Telefilms – owned by Chandra – were caught in a legal tussle. The BCCI had annulled the bidding process in which Zee Telefilms had emerged the highest bidder for matches played in India during 2004-'08. Later in September of 2004, Chandra filed a police complaint against Dalmiya, alleging that the latter had issued "life-threats" to him over the phone.
Another sour point in the relations between the two was Chandra’s Indian Cricket League that preceded the Indian Premier League. It operated from 2007 to 2009 before the BCCI stepped in and shut it down. With rumours once again heating up of a rival league to be started by Chandra, the two are at loggerheads.
Money Matters
A lot is at stake. About a month ago, the PCB sold the telecast rights to Ten Sports for $150 million over a period of five years. The next highest bid was $90 million.
“Ten Sports offered us $60 million more and won the rights in the most transparent manner," Khan said in New Delhi. “Now, if we let some other network telecast the matches, we will be inviting a legal problem."
The PCB is opposed to playing the first of the five series in India as it will mean parting with some of the revenues earned from the series. “Why should we do that? We all know that India-Pakistan matches are the most lucrative of all the cricket matches. As it is, the Indian board is quite rich”, said a PCB member, choosing to remain anonymous. “Why should we compromise with our opportunity to make some money?”
Asked about the broadcast rights being a hindrance for the upcoming series in December, Khan told the Press Trust of India, “No. I must explain that we will be dealing with the issue in the next few weeks and hopefully we will find a resolution to that. It is not so much with the Government of India. It is the BCCI and the broadcasters. We will jointly try to overcome it and I'm hopeful we can.”
Divided BJP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be determined to get relations with Pakistan going, but the Bhartiya Janata Party is split over the decision. BJP member of Parliament and former Home Secretary RK Singh opposed the series and brought up the issue during zero hour in Parliament on Monday. “A country which is giving shelters to the terrorists, who have attacked and had carried out bomb blasts against us, what is a point of playing cricket with that country, I don’t understand.”
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday had welcomed his comments. "This issue was raised by Bal Thackeray Ji and has always been raised by us," Sanjay Raut, senior Shiv Sena leader, told ANI. "Now if Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are picking up this issue and are not in favour of cricket matches with Pakistan, then we welcome it."
Another BJP member and ex-cricket Kirti Azad also opposed the resumption of ties.
Snapshot
India may not have played a full series against Pakistan from 2007 but now is a good time to look back at the past. It is time to remember that over the years, in both Tests and ODIs, Pakistan has consistently outplayed India. The only exception is that in six encounters in World Cups, India has never lost to Pakistan.
Taffazul Rizvi, PCB's legal adviser, told the media upon hearing the news of the go ahead, "People here in Pakistan are excited. It will be huge series. PCB is looking forward to it."
PCB's Director of Cricket Operations, Zakir Khan said, "good for Pakistan cricket. Shahryar is in India and pushing for the series. It's a personal victory for him."
