India cancels tour of Pakistan

Not official or confirmed though, but many news channels (NDTV) and web sites have reported that the troubled tour of Pakistan has been cancelled. Cricinfo maintains that it has been on dangerous grounds. 

 

This blog maintains that the tour cancellation was the only logical option for the embattled and embarrased Indian government after what transpired in Mumbai.  The cancellation is not done on the basis of security situation in the troubled land but owing to the new found tough stance agaist the neigbhours after 11/26.  

 

we cannot be playing cricket in the country which on one hand pretends to be friendly (the govt) and on other hand masterminds the destruction in the country (ISI).  And already being on terror attack list it doesnt sound safe for Sachin, Rahul, MSD and Viru along with others to be present in Pakistan.  If it means death of Pak cricket, then so be it. We aint responsible for their cricket or custodians to bail them out of trouble every time.

 

I agree the politics and cricket are North and South Poles, but then current situation doesnt leave us with many options. Does it ? I presume that BCCI wont fall prey to the pressure tactics from Butt and PCB.

 

And where does that leave PCB ? Nowhere. Their cricket is dead and buried. All they can do is now go and play A cricket or Zim, BD or Kenya.  They can go to Ireland and beat them square and fair to avenge 2007 WC beating.

 

May be to bring back their cricket back on track, the state of Pakistan would have to give away the age long policy of sponsoring, manufacturing and exporting terror to all parts of world. 

Say NO to neutral venues

Vic Marks in Observer suggests that in case India doesnt host England in the test series for latter refusal to tour, the test series should go to Abu Dhabi.

To me that is not a good idea. Going to Abu Dhabi or any other venue isnt done for us. We have other venues in India relatively safer than Mumbai. We have Kolkata, we have Chennai, we have Mohali. We can have series going on here. If not in Mumbai.

For sure cricket wont die in India and for sure the viewership in India wont dwindle. A temporary halt may be in line but not for long term.

Read other articles on the same topic here :

1. Hindustan times
2. Times of India
3. Dileep Premchandran

Anyways for 2 - 3 weeks cricket isnt on our agenda. Last thing we need is any harm to the beloved cricketers. They are the last left icons in the country bereft of role models and aplomb with loosers like RR Patil and Shivraj Patil in addition to the MMS and his blonde boss

We shall be back!!

We vl be back, so would our cricket and so shall Mumbai.......We can be down, we can b bruised, we can be knocked out for a while, but we can never be written off, we cannot be out and we cannot be conquered for long....The cricket in India shall return soon. The country shall bounce back after this temporary haux. We would be right there at the top of cricket world...........

Hayden's 100 Tests and African dream!!

ML Hayden run out (How/McCullum) 24 36 5 0 66.66

Is Hayden playig his last Test ? That is the 100th and last. Hasnt done anything worthy since India tour and today he got run out 12th time equalling AB s record for Australia.....Batting woes continue for Australia and right up there in Africa, Graeme Smith readies himself to try and beat Aussies home and away.....

Can Graeme Smith manage to win a single Test in the 6 test carnival against Aussies ?

And as a last note on Mumbai terror : If I sound outrageous or angry on what happened which is a normal reaction , wont you guys even comment ? I am not sucker for comments, but yes some opinions sharing is always invited even if you dont quite agree to what I say. Lets agree to disagree if not agree to every opinion :)

Kudos to BCCI and ICL!!

As the first after-reactions of the terror attacks in Mumbai, the cricket in India has taken a hit. England have returned back home cancelling the 2 ODIs suffering a whitewash. ICL World Series is gone. IPL CL is postponed. Test leg of England might or might not happen. Cricket right now is last thing on our minds. We are yet to come out of the shocking terror attacks in Mumbai which is also the BCCI headquarters. Brabourne was supposed to host the final Test match and both teams were to be booked in Taj Colaba, which is under the fire from Pakistani terrorists. So were the 4 CL teams from India, Australia and England.

One thing that comes as a highlight here is BCCI didn’t supposedly exercise the so called muscle flexing in pestering the teams to stay on and play the series for monetary benefits. Perhaps they knew that nobody would be in a right frame of mind and with the upcoming elections in Delhi during the weekend and supposed threat from the ultras, the security cover for teams could haven’t been managed as well they might have to. BCCI assessed the situation well and let go of the cricket for the time being. And so did ICL. Kudos to them.

Cricket can wait

What happened in Mumbai last nite was terrible, unprecedented, literally shitty and goddamn add all abusive and worst words to that.....Cricket can wait and take a backseat. As Soulberry suggests on his blog, the English team can scrap the tour and we wont object and neither give any false assurances about giving 200% security like our neigbhours do....I also feel that even the Champions league should be scrapped or moved to Australia.

News channels reported that 4 teams were supposed to stay in the Taj Colaba hotel for the CL. And cricinfo suggests that the Mumbai games have been switched to Bangalore and perhaps if the tour goes on, the Brabourne Test might get shifted too.

A black day in country s history.

And would state and urge the bloggers in India and from Pakistan not to equate this situation in Mumbai to the situation in Pakistan. Any terror attack that happens anywhere in the world is condemnable and against humanity. That must be dealt in iron - fist way. So please refrain from scoring brownie points on this issue when it might come to the level of deciding the future of India - Pakistan series.

Games can wait....The life should be primary importance and if thats there, everything can be taken care of later......

Why not a 3rd Test match in the series ?

Okay we won the series 5-0 ....Scrap 2 ODIs and a tour game. Get a test match..........Anybody for a test match ? And did you guys notice one thing ? MS drives every man of match on the bike, but no Viru...It happened in Bangalore and now in Cuttack.....Cold war ? Hidden agendas ? Any guesses ?

Sachin and Viru set the game for India....Still Sachin shudnt open ?

Nastier side of me is back to the business and this time its for anti Sachin ppl...The GOD and his disciple do it again...10th 100 partnership and that too at quicker pace...Sets up the game for the lead to be 5-0.

Sometimes I do wonder people who go away with sentiments echoed by the media when they say "Sachin is slow", "Sachin is selfish", "Sachin shudnt open with Viru"....Are they half baked intelligent ppl ? If Sehwag is going all guns then to preserve wkts one of the partner has to anchor the innings....And Sachin Tendulkar is one guy who switches role to perfection. After 20 yrs of cricket we mere mortals have audacity to question the greatest batsman of all times. I wish if Aussies did the same to DON in his playing days ?

Meanwhile Sehwag hit Broad for 2 back to back fours....And I m off to the game......0/119 in 17 overs with 153 more to get in 33 overs. Thats a game set match to India unless the likes of Raina and Sharma dont screw it up!!

PS : I am old timer. I love the older generation of Indian cricket, i have grown up watching them play and transform the Indian cricket from no-hoppers to almost world beaters. Bear my opinions. I would always favor Tendulkars, Dravids, Laxmans and Sehwags now with Saurav and Anil gone. I am not anti young brigade but then they gotta show the hunger.....So far the stars of the series aint the so called new young lads but the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer and of course Yuvraj.....Where are the young lads?

Why Rohit Sharma ?

Career summary
Grouping	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
v Australia	7	7	1	139	66	23.16	206	67.47	0	1	0	13	0
v Bangladesh	2	2	0	48	26	24.00	66	72.72	0	0	0	3	1
v England	4	3	1	42	28	21.00	62	67.74	0	0	0	4	0
v Hong Kong	1	1	0	11	11	11.00	29	37.93	0	0	0	0	0
v Ireland	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
v Pakistan	5	5	1	143	58	35.75	187	76.47	0	2	0	12	1
v South Africa	1	1	0	8	8	8.00	9	88.88	0	0	0	0	0
v Sri Lanka	11	11	3	194	70*	24.25	238	81.51	0	1	2	13	2

There you go with the career summary of Rohit Sharma. An average of 24.37 in 31 games with an highest of 70 against Lanka. Damn he fails against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hongkong too. And this is what we call talent and future Sachin Tendulkar ?

The context ? For the 5^th ODI Gautam Gambhir has been replaced by Sharma. Dhoni has truck loads of confidence in Sharma. Unfortunately Dhoni is no Ganguly and Sharma is no Viru / Yuvraj / Kaif who would hit back in captain’s confidence with sparkling form. There is Virat Kohli who did a decent job in SL as opener and he is yet to get a game in this series.

Sharma finds a place in the team despite his bad form just cos he is young and then media, experts, bloggers bay for Dravid s blood for bad form just cos he is 35. Do you find any blogger baying in for Sharma except me ? Nobody J

The question is how long he is going to find place in the team and not perform ? Sachin Tendulkar on account of one failure in Bangalore ODI sparks debates on his ODI future. This dude who has got more money than Sachin Tendulkar had his age doesn’t even spark a question on his place in the team ? Attitude. That’s the key. Has Sharma got it ? Not really. Easy money from T20 and IPL heroics have got in his head and he has forgot that its ODIs and Tests that count more than T20 heroics. IPL would get him money which would move his family in Borivali(W) to a comfortable mansion, but then it won’t move him to the list of decent or good international batsmen.

What’s the use of talent if you don’t showcase it or even don’t let it speak ? How long is he going to be occupying a spot in the team and not perform ? He is encashing the 66 runs he made in 1^st final against Australia in CB Series. Post that he has been as useless as a dead rubber.

Time to look elsewhere for a “young gun”

Persist with Symonds

Symo is at it all over again. He is not at the wrong end of the law, but he is still involved in wrong news. I mean this is precarious situation. He is on his last chance in the international cricket. One more fishing incident and Symo would be disgraced to folklore for good. He is too good a player to retire as a BAD MAN of Aussie cricket. Australia needs him NOW like never before. Their dominance is dwindling with opposition teams finding more chinks in Kangaroo armors than ever before. The skipper is on the fringes of being banned, his form is waning and so is Mathew Hayden. If he doesn’t pick up runs in the Adelaide Test, then may be this could be his last Test ever or Boxing Day Test / New Year Test could be his last.

Spin bowling is worst. Krejza is injured, White is redundant, and McGain is gone. And that’s where Symo chips in. He is a part timer though, but good one than the likes of Clarke and Katich. This is the time when Symo could prove his worth by contributing to the evolution of Australian cricket in positive way. His presence on the field is instrumental in putting the opposition on defensive. Sydney Test 2008 is a live example when India almost won in but due to Symo and Buckner, they couldn’t. Not only did he excel with bat, but also with ball in the 2^nd innings of the Test match.

Despite all his evil shenanigans persist with him. That’s the need of the hour.

Give Pujara a look in ahead of Yuvraj

If young is the new mantra in the indian cricket, then look at the guys who are performing at the domestic level consistently. Not the likes of Sharma and Rainas who have been given uumpteen chances and they bloody fail every time. The ones who grind their way to the top through hard work, good attitude and moreover understand importance of INDIA cap. Not the ones who get T20 riches and are millionares in attitude and prize money but poor men in run making ....Not the ones who get a vote-in in the XI for their "sheer talent load" that never "delivers"......

Get in Cheteshwar Pujara in the Test team. Groom him....I think he rivals Yuvraj Singh and on basis of his current domestic form should edge past ODI king Yuvraj for Ganguly slot. 3 domestic 100s and big ones at that isnt a mean task. And that too against one time power house of Ranji -- Mumbai is enough good to prove that this dude is worth the gamble......12 years ago Ganguly sparkled against England and now who knows we might get a new TEST star against same opposition :)

But will MSD and Kris edge past lazy duo of Raina and R Sharma ?

Best test venues

Baroda and Rajkot get a ODI or tour game every series. And so does Ahmedabad. This time even Delhi and Bangalore get 2 games in a season. Delhi hosted test against Australia and will host last ODi against England. Ditto for Bangalore. Ahmedabad hosted a Test against SA and will do so against England.

Why no games for Chennai and Kolkata -- the 2 of India s best and matured cricket stadiums ? Just cos Jaggu dada is back, Kolkata would be back to wilderness ? Isnt Eden Gardens the best Indian ground. Damn it doesnt even host a single CL game....Is BCCI internal politics at its show again ? Kolkata last hosted a Test against Pakistan in 2007 and Chennai against SA in 2008. Why dont we have a tradition in India like in Australia and England ? Why not have best TEST centres host games against premier Test sides like Australia, England and SA ? May be say a season opener in Chennai followed by decider in Kolkata and stuff like that ? Why do we need to go and see a dead wkt everytime in Chennai or a rain curtailed game (since 2004, no result in Chepauk) ?

Can BCCI rise above its zonal politics and do some good thinking out of the box and avoid some ridiculous childish acts like leaking the selection committee meeting details to media ?

Who cares about Pakistan series....

After a high against Australia and supposed to be intense Test series against England next month, a Test series against Pakistan is going to be a sort of dampner. Who bothers to play a second string Pakistan side in a Test series dereft of best players who have either defected to ICL or have retired or have fallen to PCB s antics.....They dont have a pair of opening batsmen, except Younis Khan there is no other test class batsman in the side. Bowling lacks a good decent bowler.

Pakistan fans are wishing ICL gets official and their folklored stars are able to play the international cricket. Greedy bunch of cricketers who place money over country....And we dont need to travel down to a terror torn country on word of a supposed dictator of Pak cricket Imran Khan who feels Terrorists wont attack cricketers. Dude this is Indian team coming up and world knows our team has been on firing shot of this terrorists.

Even if Pakistan tours India as Alam saab and Miandad suggests, the scoreline would be 3-0....And I am sorry to say that India would then be called minnow hunters too...But then who cares. A victory over Pakistan even today sounds delicious for all those painful defeats inflicted on us in 80s and 90s in Sharjah owing to games against the spirits of cricket, maligned umpires and greedy cricketers who would sell soul for their money.....

DHoni drama, SL series win and Q's polarization

So now when there is nothing for the media on senior debate to follow up on, they have targetted the hot and happening skipper Dhoni for the latest sensation. A small 'disagreement' is now blown up to as disgusting as 'DHoni Resignation drama'.....Wish the media in India could grow up and concentrate on the game tomorrow rather than creating useless controversies in the team. Irfan would be feeling outsider in the team owing to this alleged drama.......

Suddenly England now seems to be hit hard by the enlightment drama and when they have suffered at the hands of umps in 3rd ODI, they feel the laws should be changed. If the same thing was concern, why not sign an agreement over the usage of flood lights before the series started ? Why now ?

SL have hammered Zimbabwe for 67 and have won the series. Great stuff. Minnow hunters. Not surprising if MJ would rant they are one of the best teams in the world with lots of positives out of this series agaisnt Zim......They next play against BD in BD :)...More wins and more points, climbing up the ODI rankings table....

WHat a joke.....

It seems that Q the passionate Pakistani blogger has been successful in polarizing bloggers against ME. Now nobody visits me or even comments on the shit posts, I write here. Thanks Q. You have all the power in the world to rant about BCCI or Indian cricket, but when I do I am biased and opinionated and anti - Pakistani. Wow double standards. Why dont u bother to keep ur views on world cricket to urself. Good for u if u dont polarize opinions against ME for my anti Pakistan tirades....

Young guns fail again

Raina scores 1 and Rohit Sharma scores 28. Wonder till when the guys like this 2 are going to be part of the team just cos Dhoni likes them ? There is Virat Kohli waiting in the wings. When did Sharma last scored a decent score ? And when did Raina score significant against strong opposition (excluding Pakistan and Hong Kong) ?

Oh Ponting!!

First this :

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Gavaskar_was_no_angel_in_his_playing_days_Ponting/articleshow/3732054.cms

And then :

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3727799.cms

Where he says Dhoni and team are good for T20s as this format has less time to catch technical flaws of players like Dhoni and Yuvraj....That was a while ago before Dhoni led India to 2-0 victory over Ponting 's Aussies...

Does this imply that entire world is conspiring against Australia and Ponting including their own media ? Is Ponting error free ? Is he over the game ? Never seen a loose talk from an Aussie captain...........Perhaps time for him to get a MRI scan for his brain which seems to have lost the sense.....

India as 'Home Series Venue' for Pakistan

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2008/nov/18pakistan-could-switch-home-series-to-india.

Ijaz Butt is one amazing fellow. He never ceases to amuse us. After mulling over England and middle-east as ‘home venues’ for Pakistan home series , now he comes up with an interesting option. India as home series venue for series against India. Wow man. After all India is the one name you fall back on for every rescue action J And now this has no parallel. You play your home series against a country in its own den and call it your home series.

Play it wherever Butt Sahab, the result score line wont differ. 3-0 in Tests and 4-1/5-0 in ODIs…..

BCCI blunders!!

BCCI blunders on 2 counts in last few days :

1) In allowing Dhoni and few team members to play in an inconsequential game of an useless minister’s function. This minister happens to be close to Mr Pawar, the ex BCCI chief. Now why does BCCI have to allow the captain to play for a local side in the midst of an international series…Just to keep ex boss happy and keep the egos of this minister on high. What if Dhoni and team couldn’t have gone ? For sure he would have cried those outsider battles and stuff like that as he is usually doing this days on the ongoing regional troubles.

2) In another guffup related to Dhoni, BCCI has requested ECB to put the Ahmedabad test by a day. Now why on earth has that to happen ? Is franchise more important than country and it’s a goddamn Test match. Dhoni is the skipper now in all 3 forms of game for INDIA and not CSK. Even if he is jaded or tired, then he gotta skip the Champions League and play the test series. I am afraid to say that now he wont have a luxury to skip a Test series at the expense of an ODI or T20 series. And if plans to do that, then he better give up the Test captaincy. BCCI has got it wrong. England should say no. Let BCCI suffer once more for its ridiculous jibes.

Yuvraj sinks England yet again.....

As if Rajkot 100 wasnt enough, Yuvraj Singh scored another 100 in Indore 's new ultra chick stadium and took 4/28 to seal India's victory in style. Thats for sure Yuvraj's redemption. And he must now walk straight at # 6 in Ahmedabad Test against England to step in Ganguly's place. He has been a natural aggresive player with all shots in his armoury except good attitude....And guess what, the recent failures in Challengers, SL series and Kitply, Asia cup have made him even more hungrier for success....That augurs well for India. He, Dhoni and Sehwag are next generation of Indian batting greats...And they gotta take responsibilities sooner than later as mass exodus has began in Indian test side....

Never mind the likes of Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Raina arent worth the invaluable Indian Test cap and it was evident today with reckless batting of this t20 kids who are still basking in T20 glory, but little they do understand that they wont be remembered for long for T20 success than Test or ODi success. So its very essential for Yuvraj to mend his ways and give away his flambuyoance off the field for some time......

England are now left with no option but to reinvent themselves with 5 games to go and series at stake. KP and Freddie Flintoff along with Bell and Colly will have to step up their games and make big scores but 30s or 40s....After a 4-0 success against SA, England have been brought brutally back to earth.....

With this successful hosting, Indore should host many more tour and international games than the venues like Rajkot or Baroda or Guwahati or Kanpur....The new stadium MPCA has built is superb and has got all modern amenties. Its not in outskirts of the city, but within the heart of the city......Its my hometown and it boasts of rich cricket tradition in form of Holkars and it gave country its first test captain in 1932......I wish Mr Jyoti Scindia takes the cause of Indore with much intesity than ever before. And wow man, the next game could well be a D/N affair with flood lights being installed......

Yuvraj!!

With 2^nd consecutive 50+ score Yuvraj , I hope, has achieved a level of performance which he wont like to go down again and he now deserves a Test spot. Natural successor to his mentor and guru – the one and only Saurav Ganguly. BTW the match is on in my home town. And this is a new ground. Previous game was also against England and India won it comfortably when Robin Uthappa made his debut and got 86…..

Young guns live to their reputation

The ridiculous dismissals of Raina and Rohit Sharma in Indore ODI proves that this kids aint worth the run in Test matches. When the situation demanded they stay back and reconsolidate, they threw their wkts away to soft dismissals. And they are supposed to be the replacements for the guys like Dravid , Tendulkar and Ganguly….Wishful thinking..

Trash ICC ODI rankings

Picture this :

India loose to Australia 2-4 (2007)
India beat Pakistan 3-2 (2007)
India beat Australia and SL in Australia (2008)
India beat SL 3-2 (2007)

And then this :

Pakistan loose to SA 2-3 in 2007
Pakistan loose to India 2-3 in 2007
Pakistan beat BD 5-0 in 2008
Pakistan beat Zim 5-0 in 2008
Pakistan win Kitply Cup in 2008
Pakistan loose Asia Cup in 2008

And then this :

England loose to NZ home and away (2008)
England beat SL 3-2 (2007)
England beat SA 4-0 (2008)

And the great news is that Pakistan are now # 3 in the ODI rankings, England is # 4, New Zealand is 5 and we the T20 champions and the only 'Asian side' to win in Perth are lingering at 6, just above SL and WI.....

Isnt it bloody ridiculous ? England win one series against SA and they leapfrog to # 3. NZ doesnt win ODIs consistently and they maintain # 3 spot for long time. Pakistan wins against hapless BD, WI and Zim side, loose to SL, India, SA and yet they are #3.... And we the poor 3rd world Indians are sore loosers ?

We beat Australia in Australia, SL in SL, Pakistan in India and yet we hang in at # 6. What kind of ratings are this ? Now again if SA beat BD in Tests which they would they would go back to # 2 and we even after trumping Aussies 2-0 with giving away nothing would drop to # 3. I mean some kind of sense has to prevail. We are the only country to win a Test in Australia 2 times this decade and beat them 2 times this decade...Yet we never reach # 2 spot.

Our players fall prey to whims and fancies of match referres and players like Afridi, Watson and Akhtar get away with the bans. Despite this the world preaches BCCI to excersise its power cautiously. Bloody ridiculous. Didnt Afridi escape ban in Delhi Test last year ? Didnt Akhtar get away with doping scandals, hitting players and with all the indiscipline and sledging in the world. And Gambhir for one elbowing after relentless sledging is banned for a TEST.

Then the players like Ponting and Hayden teach us morality when they themselves are culprit of killing the spirit of game in Sydney 2008. This all proves that India isnt the powerful superpower of world cricket. Its just another nation which has got the major financial boost to the ICC and thanks to the wonderful contribution of Fab Four in Tests and ODis over last decade which makes India garner finance out of the game....

Its ridiculous to see pakistan at # 3 when they havent played any cricket and if they have played any, then they have against minnows and thrashed them and have got thrashed like minnows when playing against stronger opposition...Today when there is a India - Pakistan game, we dont feel the tension anymore or even goosebumps in the tummy cos we know that we would beat Pakistan easily even with no Tendulkar or Dravid in ODis.....And when minnows climb to # 3, a proud cricketing country tradition hurts...

Yuvraj floors England.....High talks Punctured..

India managed to beat England comprehensively and crushingly. 158 runs is a huge margin. Just 20 more than what Yuvraj managed. Not only India did make its higghest score at home, 2nd highest overall but also got England skittled out to its 3rd heaviest defeat in ODIs. That not only punctured high talks from Geofrrey Boycott, but also proved that India is better equipped to change gears from Test mode to ODI mode.


As many as 5 players are playing ODI series after the Aussie Test series....And frankly speaking 7 ODIs across length and breadth of country at obscure venues like Guwahati or Rajkot is too much to ask for. Why not a 5 ODI and 3 test series ?


This should be a long term comeback for Yuvraj not only out of the prolonged batting slump, but also as one of the worthy contender for the Test spot left by his mentor Saurav Ganguly. Right now Yuvraj seems the best choice to fit in the gap. India not only got good opening partnership at the top, but also the middle order kept the runs flowing. Again an victory where everybody contributed except YP. I am not sure if he deserves his place in the team. Irfan would be more better to be in the team for his useful batting skills.


England got to do a soul searching mode in the next 2 days when they play next ODI at venue where they lost comfortably in 2006 in Indore -- my home town on a new built wonderful stadium. Freddie , Colly and Bell will have to be among runs and so would Harmison, Anderson to stop leaking the runs......


Today was Yuvraj's day. But would he be fit for 2nd ODI ? Watching oDIs now is a bit of boring after being used to 5 day Razmattaazzz

England fav to beat India !!! Really Geofrrey ?

I think Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen as batsmen and Flintoff again will be the key figures. I really do think the Indians will get a surprise in the one-dayers from the little left-arm spinner Samit Patel. He has been a surprise choice for England. He has a low centre of gravity, he keeps the ball low and he doesn't throw it up in the air too much. He is not easy to hit in one-day cricket.

I also think India are under pressure. England have a better chance of beating India now because my Prince of Calcutta, Sourav Ganguly, is gone. Kumble is gone. Rahul Dravid is struggling to get runs in Tests and he's the next to go. There is huge pressure from the BCCI for Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman to retire also. I think that's wrong, but that is only my opinion. They are very good players and it makes it very hard for them when they are under the cosh from their board. It is not easy to perform with people telling them to retire. That is just extra stress that a player doesn't need. So in many ways it is a good time for England to be playing in India.

English cricket writers have been cynical no doubt. But this one is super cynical. For heaven’s sake India have just trumped Aussies 2-0, the best in the world and England have lost a Test series to SA 1-2 and lost a Stanford T20 after being dismissed for 99 and then for 98 against a 3^rd string Mumbai team in a tour game in India. Yet England good to beat India ? Wow.

Childish Miandad

“Security situation in Indian is also not very good. But despite this our players are playing in ICL and IPL. So it was imperative that Indians keep up the sporting exchanges with Pakistan.

While Pakistan is thinking positively for India, what message Indians are sending around the world by cancelling their hockey team's tour to Pakistan?

The participation of our players in ICL and IPL is not mandatory but they are honoring their commitments…..”

Javed Miandad quotes on possibility of cancellation of India ‘s Pakistan tour early next year. He has been a lose tounged man and has often puked out verbal diarrohea, but this one goes even beyond that. I am not bothered about political situation in India or Pakistan and neither this is biased or partial post as few people might feel. But equating Indian situation to Pakistan is rubbish and uncalled for when it comes to security. And whom is Miandad kidding ? Are Pakistan players playing in ICL or IPL representing their country ? ICL players are in here from Pakistan for their selfish vested interests and of course money is a huge factor in here. When the likes of Yousuf can ditch their national career for ICL, then what do we expect out of other lesser players of Pakistan.

Can you imagine any Indian player ditching his national side to play for ICL ? Forget the fringe players. Have the likes of VVS Laxman ditched Indian colors for ICL when he can also claim like Yousuf that he wasn’t treated well after missing out the ODI tourneys and T20s ? Some sense should prevail in the likes of Miandad when it comes to speak of other security situation in India. A balanced outlook is essential, but then was he ever famous for balanced outlook. A player which took cricket field with a war like attitude can never be expected to speak sense. I remember fiery statements of the likes of Miandad and Imran Khan during those one sided favored Friday finals in Sharjah when Pakistan took field with 13 players (umps)…When they said Kashmir should be decided on result of Sharjah. Come lets decide Kashmir now on basis of previous tour results and games ? Makes sense ? No, sounds rubbish isn’t it ?

And it doesn’t make any sense for India’s team to act brotherly and go to Pakistan when no other team is going to tour the troubled land. We don’t have to risk our players by sending them to Pakistan and aint Indians the natural targets of terror groups ? Aint they ? Cross me for this, but I don’t see any sense in going to Pakistan and scrapping tour would actually be helpful for Pakistan as they would avoid a whitewash in both ODIs (0-5) and Tests (0-3). With current buoyant Indian team and after trumping Aussies, its but natural that Pakistan would be a no-hopper for India…And for that matter Mendis’s SL too…..

Scrap Pakistan tour

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Suicide_attack_at_Peshawar_stadium_2_killed/articleshow/3700729.cms

Scrap India's Pakistan tour. Now when a suicide bomber can blow up people within stadium with security guards sitting idle, we cannot be sure how our cricketers would be guarded in Pakistan. And likes of Rahul and Sachin are already under security threat from terror groups.....Let Butt decide a neutral venue for the series or else we are better off playing in India than going to Pakistan....