With politics trumping sports, devbhoomi (the abode of gods), as Himachal Pradesh proudly calls itself, has missed out on the chance to host the World Twenty20 match between India and Pakistan.
Ironically, in 2005, India and Pakistan contested the first-ever international cricket match hosted by the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. The chief guest was Virbhadra Singh, who was then in his previous innings as chief minister.
To complete the irony, the man hell-bent against matches between India and Pakistan at the time was HPCA president Anurag Thakur, now also secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and responsible 11 years on for picking Dharamsala as the venue for the tournament’s most high-profile match. The stadium has the majestic Dhauladhar mountain range in the backdrop and is situated near McLeod Ganj, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the seat of the The Dalai Lama. The region records the second-highest rainfall in the country. It is the first and only international standard cricket stadium in the state.
Bad blood
The politics began in December, soon after the venue was selected to host the March 19 India-Pakistan match. With Anurag Thakur’s firm backing, Dharamsala beat out competition from much larger and better equipped stadiums in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mohali. The decision was controversial because the HPCA Stadium only has a capacity of 20,000 and the hilly town lacks adequate boarding and lodging facilities for such an important game. It’s only five-star hotel was built by the state’s cricket association for players and officials. Again, Anurag Thakur was at the forefront of this endeavour.
Thakur and his father, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, have a running feud with the incumbent Virbhadra Singh. During his tenure as chief minister, Dhumal opened several corruption-related inquiries against Singh and had a number of cases registered against him. He is also believed to be the force behind the registration of Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate case against Virbhadra Singh for alleged financial irregularities in his income tax returns. Some months ago, a CBI team raided the chief minister’s official residence just as he was leaving for his daughter’s wedding ceremony.
Virbhadra Singh is not one to forgive and forget. He has had cases registered against Dhumal and Thakur since wresting power from Dhumal. Three of these cases are related to the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
One of his first acts after becoming chief minister for the fifth time in 2012 was to order that the stadium be taken over. Overnight, state police and vigilance teams locked up the stadium citing alleged irregularities. HPCA, led by long-time president Anurag Thakur, successfully challenged the order in the Himachal Pradesh High Court and got back control of the arena.
The Virbhadra Singh-led state government then registered a case against the HPCA for getting land allotted to it illegally. Another case was registered for demolishing a dilapidated government school building for the construction of the stadium. The cases are pending in the courts.
The endgame
Ultimately, what led to the cancellation of the India-Pakistan match at Dharamsala was the inability of the state government to give any undertaking for the safety and security of the visiting team.
The state government also cited opposition from the relatives of two soldiers killed in the January terror attack on the Pathankot air base. The protests were led by the state’s Ex-Servicemen League, headed by Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, a senior Congress leader.
Incidentally, Anurag Thakur and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had vociferously opposed a proper series between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Gurdaspur terror attack last July. Seven months on, their argument is that they had opposed a bilateral series, while the March 19 series is a part of a world tournament.
Thakur also pointed out that Virbhadra Singh had waited till the eleventh hour to oppose the match, despite the schedule being announced more than two months ago. He alleged that the conduct of the chief minister had embarrassed the state as well as the country.
For his part, Virbhadra Singh said that the Pathankot attack had infuriated the people of the state, prompting the change in the government’s stand.
Now, the focus will shift from Dharmsala to Kolkata, with Eden Gardens being allotted the prestigious fixture. Fans have already pointed out that Pakistan has a good record at that ground. But as one cricket lover succinctly put it: The Pakistani players will have to face the jeers of at least a lakh spectators at Eden Gardens instead of the 20,000 at Dharamsala.
