KARACHI, 10 November 2004 — Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq says his players will only have cricket on their minds when they play a groundbreaking One-Day International against India in Calcutta on Saturday.
“It is a very important match for both sides and we know it will be a full house at the Eden Gardens. But the only pressure of playing in India is the huge expectations on us to win,” Inzamam told reporters yesterday.
The Pakistan team travel to India today for the first time since 1999 to play a match being held to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
When Pakistan last toured India there were political overtones to the Test series with the Hindu fundamentalists digging up a pitch at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi to protest against a Test match.
The Test at the Eden Gardens was hit by crowd trouble after India’s leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar got tangled up with fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and was run out in a freak incident by a direct throw from the boundary.
Pakistan won on the final day after police had to empty the stadium to avoid more crowd trouble. “This time the conditions are different and I think people of both countries are eagerly waiting for the match. We are also only thinking about cricket,” said Inzamam, one of three surviving members of the 1999 squad.
India resumed bilateral cricket relations with Pakistan after a period of nearly four years by playing a one-day and Test series in Pakistan this year. The series was a success in diplomatic and financial terms for the boards and since then peace talks have been held between the two governments.
Pakistan and India have played three One-Day Internationals in Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and England since, with Pakistan winning all three.
“We are not complacent because of our previous wins. We know India is a difficult team to beat on home ground. It is going to be easy for us,” Inzamam said.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan said the match would continue improving relations between the two countries.
“Cricket will be the winner in Calcutta like it was when India came to Pakistan. There should be no problems,” Khan said. India have invited Pakistan for a Test series in February and March next year.
Sri Lanka Keeper Kaluwitharana Quits Internationals
In Colombo, Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana has retired from international cricket after missing out on selection for a training squad for next month’s tour of New Zealand.
Kaluwitharana has been dropped many times previously but with his 35th birthday fast approaching is now determined to hang up his gloves for good. “I have decided to call it a day having not been selected for New Zealand,” Kaluwitharana told reporters on Tuesday.
“I started my Test career on a high note with a century against Australia and I’m happy to end it with a half century against Pakistan.”
The diminutive Kaluwitharana made 54 in his side’s six-wicket defeat by Pakistan in the second Test in Karachi last week, playing as a specialist batsman.
“I must have made 20 to 30 comebacks in my career but I don’t want to drag my career on for the sake of it and the time is now right to go,” Kaluwitharana added. “I wish Sri Lankan cricket all the best for the future.”
Kaluwitharana was widely respected for his cavalier batting style, especially during Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup triumph when he teamed up with Sanath Jayasuriya in famous pinch-hitting assaults to lay the platform for many of the team’s victories.
