Sad day for the sport

I remember when India was touring Pakistan a few years ago and everyone called it the series of reconciliation, where Indian and Pakistani fans of the sport sat together and cheered on their teams. That was a victory for cricket as it was hailed as the great unifier. Cricket has always been seen as the last bastion of cooperation and sensibility, rising above the concerns of things like politics and terrorism, but today, all that changed.

After 26/11 the Indian team withdrew from a scheduled Pakistan tour for Political reasons. When no other foreign teams were willing to travel to Pakistan for security reasons, Sri Lanka, itself no stranger to terrorism, decided to step in for the Indian team (in what I thought was a pretty noble if foolish gesture). Pakistan is not a stable state. This has been proven time and again, and this time the instability of Pakistan has spilled over into the sporting arena. Sportsmen are ambassadors, ambassadors of the sport and ambassadors of their countries - it is extremely sad that this is the reward Sri Lanka is getting for their attempts at the promotion of the sport. This attack on the Sri Lankan tour bus is not just an attack against the Sri Lankan players it is an attack on the unifying spirit of the game. Now, one more avenue of international interaction is closed for Pakistan. I would be very surprised if any other nations agree to travel to Pakistan in the near (or far) future, and they absolutely shouldn't. While there will be people that say by not touring Pakistan, the international community is giving the terrorists exactly what they want - the further isolation of the country. But what can be done? The security threat is a very real and present. It makes no sense to endanger lives in the name of international cooperation.

The Champions Trophy was scheduled to be held in Pakistan later this year - the organizers had best start looking for a new venue.


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