Everyone (including myself) have been following IPL the past couple of weeks and will be doing so for the next couple of weeks. Love it or hate it... the Indian Premier League has become a necessary evil that is not going away for the next few years and is for here to stay. A controversy causing issue before the start of this year's IPL was the non-inclusion of any players from Pakistan. The first edition of the IPL saw a good number of Pakistan players and I believe Sohail Tanvir finished as the highest wicket taker of the tournament. Our Indian crowds also supported these players and people were talking about the ability of sports to heal any wounds and how relationships between the countries will be improved through cricket. Then the Mumbai terrorist attacks happened. The ever-changing Board of Pakistan did not allow the players to travel to India for 2nd season of IPL citing security concerns. Then the tournament moved to South Africa and the Pakistan players did not play in the tournament (probably due to public backlash). This year, it looked like the doors of India will once again open for Pakistan players for the 3rd season of IPL. Pakistan are the reigning Twenty-Twenty world champs and they had a lot of good players who wanted to play in the IPL and earn hefty paycheck. Then, something totally unexpected happened. Due to a combination of reasons ranging from confusion over player visas to negative public sentiments, the IPL teams decided not to take any players from Pakistan. Some of the Pakistan players were actually shocked by this and folks like Shahid Afridi openly whined and complained about this injustice being meted out to him. In fact, Sohail Tanvir, who was loved by the Indian crowds, went on Pakistan TV and said "Hinduon ki zahaniyat hi aisi hai (the Hindu nature is like that only)” and made this into a religious affair!!!
So, should players from Pakistan be allowed to take part in IPL games? My answer would be no, No and a big NO. Note that my answer has nothing to do with religion or hatred towards Pakistan. My answer is based on the logical course of events a country (India) has to take against a country (Pakistan) which is hell bent on disturbing its stability. Time and again, many innocent Indian lives are being lost because of terrorist attacks from across the border. Pakistan typically denies that it has anything to do with terrorism and the animals that are responsible for these attacks are elements operating secretly in Pakistan. But most of us do not believe this and if history is any indicator, Pakistan will never want to be at peace with India and will continue to pour its money (thanks USA!) and resources (thanks China!) into cross-border terrorism. Even if the trouble-makers have nothing to do with Pakistan government, the country has a responsibility to clamp down and dismantle terrorist infrastructure. So, either Pakistan is a rogue state which does not give a damn about world peace or it is a handicapped state that can't even control its own people....So, what should the countries of the world do against such countries????? My solution is... 1) put a trade ban on Pakistan 2) Stop all diplomatic activities with Pakistan 3) Stop all sporting activities with Pakistan. And the Pakistan players not playing in IPL would at least kick-start 3) in the list. What I am suggesting is not something new and has been done in the past against South Africa, Iraq and (even now) North Korea to name a few. A good analogy to quote here would be South Africa. Everyone is familiar with the historically horrifying "apartheid" enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. One of the consequences of apartheid.... South Africa was excluded from Olympics in 1968 and consequently banned from international sports until apartheid was abolished (in 1994). This may not have meant much for South Africa, who did have some rebel cricket tours, but this will have a deep impact for Pakistan. In the current world, sports is THE source of complete entertainment and cricket rules in Pakistan. If you take away cricket from Pakistan and isolate it from international events, then (maybe) the good citizens of Pakistan will wake up, realize that no one in the world approves of their actions and at least force their government to start acting responsibly. Maybe Sports will bring together the people of Pakistan together and fight their government after all!
Quite a few folks in India argue that Pakistan cricketers are ambassador of the country and should be welcomed to India with friendship (Like Shah Rukh Khan). I think this argument is ridiculous and stupid. The players are here just for the money and they don't give a damn about India or Indo-Pak relations. They make some nice statements, pocket the money, go back to Pakistan and will probably laugh and make jokes about India. None of these players stood up and said a word during the terrorist attacks. Nor did they do any so-called "friendship building activities" when they were here. And even if these players have nothing to do with terrorism, we can always argue that the money they earn is taxed in Pakistan, which may end up in their defence budgets which ultimately sponsors terrorist activities. I know this is a stretch, but hey... its a valid argument!
So, let the Pakistan players condemn terrorist attacks, genuinely come to India to build friendly relations and if thats the case, let us welcome them to play in the IPL. If not, your services are not needed and we are having a good time without you! So, how do we know if Pakistan players are here for friendship and not for money alone? How about donating 50% of your pay check to the victims of the Mumbai attacks :-)
