CRY BABY PAKISTAN!
Pakistan has complained against the treatment meted out to Mohammad Rizwan after he was dismissed and was walking back to the pavilion.
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L-R: Shadab Khan, Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi (Via ICC/AFP)
Cry baby. That is Pakistan cricket for you. On Tuesday night, the Pakistan Cricket Board once again complained to the International Cricket Council. Surprisingly, the complaints have been filed, based on what social media has thrown up in recent days after their massive loss to India in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Ideally speaking, if there were issues for the Pakistan players during the humiliating loss against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium, it should have been flagged then and there. The delay is because Pakistan needs to rake up issues that can help them deflect attention from the real problem, how badly their team has played!
As per certain sports websites, Pakistan has complained against the treatment meted out to Mohammad Rizwan after he was dismissed and was walking back to the pavilion. This is one complaint which has been chronicled by the PCB, again based on social media videos.
The second complaint, ostensibly, pertains to Hasan Ali facing ire from fans, again at the Narendra Modi Stadium when he was fielding. At that time, India made the run chase look so fast and furious.
Pakistan cribbing is nothing new. They have always found reason, knowing fully well that hostility exists between the two nations. To be sure, the PCB is well within its rights to file a complaint or more against poor behavior. How much it will help Pakistan’s cricket team is not really known.
For its part, the ICC, as a neutral body and responsible for the conduct of the World Cup in India, can examine social media footage if necessary. They will surely do it and see what can be done next. Pakistan’s cricket team, its limited fans allowed to enter India and the entire PCB is very well aware playing in India will not be easy, more so when they are playing the host nation.
Heckling, shouting slogans and all other behavior from the crowd is hard to control when over 1,00,000 fans are inside. At best, policing can be provided very well to ensure safety, which was done. In the field of play, if players faced the heat, they have to deal with it.
The grouse, or complaint(s) made by Pakistan pertains to Section 11 of the ICC’s anti-discrimination policy for international cricket, which deals with enforcement against spectators. Now the ball is in the ICC’s court. How soon they deal with it cannot be said with certainty.
Pakistan should focus on its own cricket rather than the noise
To think that spectators will be at best behavior is impossible in any sport, anywhere in the world. Football has seen massive hooliganism all over the world. Even in tennis, during the Australian Open, the Russia versus Ukraine war had become an issue. Players and fans faced the heat, depending on which side of the fence they were.
For Pakistan to think India will be good hosts is a fair expectation. How much one can control fan behavior is a bit crazy, really. As long as they are not abusive or throwing missiles like plastic bottles, it is fine. The ICC could take up to two weeks to reply to this complaint after proper probe. They will need to examine it fully, in detail. Till then, Pakistan should focus on its own cricket.
One more point that sticks out like a sore thumb is Pakistan’s media weeping over visas not being granted in time. Two points here need to be clarified. The first is, that the ICC itself delayed clearing media accreditation. Journalists from other countries who are in India applied for visas well in advance and came to India.
Given the current political situation and diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, visa issuance is not ICC’s domain. That is left to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
How soon the visas are cleared is a point which cannot be flagged by the Pak media. Visa issuance is not a matter of right, it is given only after proper verification and if the diplomats are satisfied. Unfortunately for Pakistan, they face visa problems not just in India but many other countries as well.
This problem cannot be dealt with by the ICC, really, unless they had factored visa being a part of the media accreditation granted. When the media accreditation cards are given for multi discipline events like the Olympics and the Asian Games, the media card itself has a visa on arrival which, again, has to be endorsed on arrival in the host city.
Agreed, the whole media accreditation process followed by the ICC was a bit late. However, they are well within their rights to decide whom to give accreditation and whom to reject. There is nothing automatic in this procedure.
Pakistan also needs to be reminded one of their own star anchors, Zainab Abbas, flew back to Pakistan last week from Pakistan. She was contracted by STAR TV. Yet, somewhere there was a lack of clarity if she had been deported. Her social media account (X) later revealed she had left on her own and not “being asked to leave.” These days, the prevailing situation between Israel and Palestine, thanks to the HAMAS terrorists, has created more problems.
If people are going to post pro Palestine or support Hamas, there will be backlash from social media. There has been a social media post from at least one Pakistan cricketer on this topic, which has not gone down well. Was Zainab also guilty of it? All these issues are going to keep the pot boiling right through the World Cup. Be ready for it!
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)