It’s not cricket

It is unfortunate that Pakistan and its cricket board have been penalised by Afghanistan as part of the fallout from Wednesday’s massive bombing in the Afghan capital that left at least 80 people dead and hundreds more injured, including Pakistani diplomats. One perhaps can understand the rage and pain that the Afghans feel over such deadly attacks but what is less comprehensible is the way in which Pakistan is routinely held responsible for the actions of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network by extension. Such alacrity can only mean one thing: Kabul is unwilling to face up to the shortcomings of its own security forces and their inability to quell the Taliban insurgency.

Now choosing to go beyond the usual rhetoric, the Afghans have started also to downgrade or revise agreements with their neighbours. And cricket of all things has been made the victim. Just last week the two countries’ cricket boards had struck an agreement to play two friendly T20 matches in Lahore and Kabul but now in the wake of the Kabul bombing, the Afghan authorities have scrapped the plan altogether. In ordinary circumstances, it would not matter a jot whether Afghanistan toured or even played our national team — for several reasons, least of all because it hasn’t quite received Test-playing status yet. But the isolation that was forced upon Pakistan following the 2009 attack on the touring Sri Lankan cricketers has changed the equation.

The Afghan board had much to gain from the agreement because the PCB was to provide Afghanistan with venues for training and conditioning camps in addition to the regional exposure. And the final reward from the bilateral agreement was the possibility of reciprocal tours between the two teams. The T20 games were drawn up with the aim of easing tensions between the two neighbours. And now even that chance is lost.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2017.

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