NEW DELHI, 30 March 2003 — Arch rivals India and Pakistan have called off forthcoming cricket tours of each other’s countries, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported yesterday.
India were scheduled to tour Pakistan next month, but cricket board president Jagmohan Dalmiya announced in Calcutta the national team would not be able to make the trip because of a government ban on bilateral series with Pakistan.
“It is known to everybody that the government is against bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Dalmiya told PTI.
Pakistan retaliated saying it would also not send its team to India for a scheduled tour next year.
“BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya informed us that though they were willing to tour Pakistan, the Indian government has not given them the approval,” PTI quoted a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman as saying in Islamabad.
Spokesman Samiul Hassan said keeping in view India’s stand, Pakistan would not send its team to India next year.
India and Pakistan are scheduled to play four series till 2010 under the 10-year Test program of the International Cricket Council. The Indian government has banned bilateral cricket with Pakistan since 1999. The two teams, however, clashed in the multi-nation World Cup in South Africa early this month, with India beating Pakistan by six wickets in a preliminary league match at Centurion.
Cancellation of Tours Disappointing: Pakistan
In Karachi, Pakistan said yesterday the cancellation of its cricket tours with rival India was disappointing and violated the spirit of sport.
“We are hugely disappointed and do not understand the inexplicable stand of the Indian government that they are ready to play in multi-lateral events and not in bilateral series,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Chishty Mujahid told AFP.
India last toured Pakistan in 1997-98 for a three-match one-day series while Pakistan last toured India in 1998-99 despite threats from Hindu fundamentalists. “We took the matter (of India’s refusal to play in Pakistan) to the ICC meeting in South Africa last week and will raise it once again in the June meeting in London,” the PCB director said.
The ICC said in its meeting in South Africa it was willing to send officials to try to convince the Indian government to change its stance but not before it received an invitation from India to visit.
India last month also refused to send a team to the now-postponed South Asian Federation Games in Islamabad.
Jayasuriya Named Captain for Sharjah Tournament
In Colombo, Sanath Jayasuriya, who resigned as Sri Lanka’s captain last week, will lead a 15-member national squad in the upcoming one-day cricket tournament in Sharjah, officials announced yesterday.
The hard-hitting batsman quit the captaincy last Saturday but his resignation was rejected by Sri Lankan Sports Minister Johnston Fernando the following day.
The four-nation tournament will be held at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from April 3 to 10. World Cup semifinalists Kenya, Zimbabwe and Pakistan are the other teams. The selection panel, including veteran batsman Aravinda de Silva who retired after the World Cup, named newcomers Michael Vandort, wicketkeeper-batsman Prasanna Jayawardena and leg-spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi in the team.
England Offer Zimbabwe Compensation After Boycott
In Harare, the England and Wales Cricket Board is to pay the Zimbabwe Cricket Union an undisclosed sum of money in compensation following the England players’ boycott of their World Cup fixture, due to have been played here on Feb. 13.
The ECB chairman David Morgan, who made a two-day visit to the Zimbabwe capital, told his counterpart Peter Chingoka that the compensation was purely a goodwill gesture and it did not imply liability by the ECB.
The money will help cover hotel expenses, catering wastage, security, ticket sales and administrative costs, which still had to be met after England failed to show up. But the ECB may yet face a detailed claim by the ZCU. Morgan stated that “England did not come to Zimbabwe because of safety concerns only, and there was no political agenda.” The ECB “goodwill” offer was clearly the beginning of a healing process between the two cricket nations ahead of a 10-week tour to England and Ireland by Zimbabwe expected to begin at the end of April.
Waugh Uncertain About Returning For 2003-04 Season
In Sydney, Steve Waugh will lead Australia on a four-Test tour of the West Indies starting next week but said he was unsure if he would continue playing even at state level next year.
Waugh, who was unable to win a place in Australia’s successful World Cup squad captained by Ricky Ponting, led New South Wales to the Australian Interstate Championship and one-day title double in 2002-03. The 37-year-old won the inaugural Steve Waugh Medal overnight for the New South Wales player of the season.
“It’s a huge shock. It’s nice to win a trophy and have your name already on the trophy,” the state captain told reporters.
“Next season is a very long way off. I’m not sure whether I’m going to be there or not. If I’m there, I’ll look forward to the challenge again.”
Bangladesh Names New National Team Skipper
In Dhaka, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday named Khaled Mahmud as skipper of the country’s national cricket team ahead of a tri-nation tournament starting next month. A BCB spokesman told reporters after a meeting of the board’s advisory committee that Khaled Mahmud would succeed Khaleda Mashud, who resigned on personal grounds after Bangladesh’s World Cup debacle.
