Why did PCB not issue NOC to their players during the 2009 edition of IPL?

[Hitman]

I'm not a fan of the T20 format, and certainly not of league cricket.

Having said that, I've read a lot of posts from respected posters here over the years regarding the issue. Pak players were welcomed with open arms in the first edition of the IPL. They would have received the same welcome the second time, but unfortunately the PCB didn't allow them to participate in the second edition of the IPL

Was it because of the Mumbai attacks? Or was it because India refused to tour Pakistan in early 2009?

What was the real issue?

 

[Mamoon]

India accused Pakistan of orchestrating Mumbai Attacks.

PCB decided to retaliate by blocking Pakistani players from participating in IPL 2. Whether the directive came from PCB or the government of Pakistan was unclear.

Either way, the motive was to hurt IPL. Pakistani cricketers were hot commodities in T20 cricket at the time, they played a key role in the success of IPL 1 & the belief was that if Pakistani players don’t participate in IPL, it will fail.

The official excuse was that India would be unsafe to travel because of the general elections, but BCCI decided to host the IPL in South Africa anyway.

PCB (Pakistan’s) decision backfired in spectacular fashion. Not only was IPL 2 a success, the IPL became bigger & bigger every year without any contribution from Pakistani players.

It became a bigger brand than Pakistan cricket itself & showed how unimportant Pakistani players were.

The icing on the cake was Pakistani players getting embarrassed in IPL 2010 auction after PCB realized that their stunt backfired. However, IPL franchised already moved on & could no longer trust PCB. It was not worth the effort.

There is no doubt that Pakistani players would have been banned down the line anyway due to the political climate, but Pakistan’s delusion in 2009 cost Pakistani players at least 3-4 seasons. It would have been life changing money for most of them.

 

[Devadwal]

If they were participate in IPL 2009 edition than i don't think 2010 fixing scandal happened as Asif,Amir and butt were great T20 player's that time.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Mumbai attacks took place. The CLT20 scheduled that year was cancelled.

Indian team didn't go to Pakistan fo the tour. The Indian government said that the place is unsafe to tour and player's safety is a concern.

IPL was a new league then. BCCI had just negotiated the presence of english players.

PCB led by Ijaz Butt declared that india was unsafe for the players to tour. IMO they did this to achieve certain goals.

A) PCB believed non participation of Pakistanis will bring the popularity of IPL down, forcing bcci to come to PCB for help and BCCI will be forced to tour Pakistan.

B) They had hoped that other boards will follow suit, forcing bcci into a corner, and to save its league they will be forced to rally support of Asian boards and PCB.

C) If this had happened, PCB would have got a huge and permanent leverage over bcci.

 

[MenInG]

Appreciate it if we stay away from blame game type thing for the mumbai stuff on this thread. That is for TPS

 

[Bhaijaan]

Whatever the reasons might have been, in the longer run, the *** for tat approach has not served PCB well. It’s hard to imagine now that things were never this bad between the two boards, from 2003's historic tour of Pakistan till 2008, both teams toured each other several times allowing the boards to mint a lot of money.

If the PCB had continued to deal with BCCI with a lot more business minded and practical approach rather than emotional and egotistical, things would have been a lot better.

BCCI isn't always right, but they have grown too big to be played with. Anyone who has dealt with big clients or business partners can tell you that you have to eat your ego at times for your own benefit.

To India's credit, we were touring Pakistan consistently when things were right. Some of these SENA nations have just restarted visiting Pakistan now after decades and PCB can't seem to stop bending their backs to thank them for something they are supposed to do anyway. In 5 years time, we went to Pakistan for two full fledged tours and an Asia Cup and we didn't need any thanks. Just the two boards to be on cordial terms.

 

[Sher Khan]

Post the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani players were never going to get picked again in IPL.

I struggle to think why franchise owners would take such a risk.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

You will see a lot of historical revisionism here that seeks to post the blame on Pakistan and the PCB. Already one Indian has mentioned India refused to tour Pakistan for security reasons, but when Pakistan didn't send its players its because they were trying to play a game.

The heightened tensions and the fanning of flames by right wingers in India presented a unqiue security situation and risk to Pakistani players. Remember the history here, Pakistani teams and players had been targeted by right wing Hindu nationalists many times in the past. Pitches have been damaged when Pakistan was due to play, crowds have invaded the ground during the matches requiring them to be played behind closed doors, mobs have demanded that Pakistan can't play in certain cities and burnt flags. Until the terrorist attacks against the Sri Lankans these incidents were unprecedented in Sports History yet they are brushed under the carpet by Indians and to their credit Pakistanis who chose not highlight them too much at the time.

Sure the Pakistani players may have been handled under presidential type security but its hard enough doing that for one team in one city, logistically it would have been impossible to put every team under lockdown to protect the 1-2 Pakistanis in each team from a high likelihood of attack.

In fact, the Indian government subsequently acknowledged the fragility of the security situation by moving the league to South Africa. If they couldn't protect their own players in India at that time do you really think Pakistanis would have been safe.

Pakistan's stance on India has been 100% consistent. India is the one constantly chopping and changing its logic.

No amount of attempted historical revisionism will change these facts.

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

Pakistan think tank is one of dumbest that's why we are struggling

 

[hitthestump]

Post the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani players were never going to get picked again in IPL.

I struggle to think why franchise owners would take such a risk.

I don't think this is strictly true.

India have never been big fans of Pakistan, but to exclude only one nations cricketers from your league is a huge step which is always going to be hard to arrive at in a legitimate way without looking like fascism.

Luckily for them, Ijaz Butt made it easy by setting the precedent that Pakistan players themselves won't go purely due to political reasons.

Since then India have happily gone along with this narrative of exclusion based on politics, and nobody can say anything because Pakistan were the ones who started it.

A massive miscalculation by Ijaz Butt and an ongoing humiliation for Pakistan. The league grows from strength to strength and everyone else is too busy printing money to care less about the Pakistani players left out in the cold.

 

[Hitman]

Mumbai attacks took place. The CLT20 scheduled that year was cancelled.

Indian team didn't go to Pakistan fo the tour. The Indian government said that the place is unsafe to tour and player's safety is a concern.

IPL was a new league then. BCCI had just negotiated the presence of english players.

PCB led by Ijaz Butt declared that india was unsafe for the players to tour. IMO they did this to achieve certain goals.

A) PCB believed non participation of Pakistanis will bring the popularity of IPL down, forcing bcci to come to PCB for help and BCCI will be forced to tour Pakistan.

B) They had hoped that other boards will follow suit, forcing bcci into a corner, and to save its league they will be forced to rally support of Asian boards and PCB.

C) If this had happened, PCB would have got a huge and permanent leverage over bcci.

I think it was really unwise for the PCB to take that decision. Pak players were a big hit in the inaugural edition of the IPL. They were welcomed in the next edition as well. Somehow, PCB shut it’s door.

 

[Arabian_Tiger]

You will see a lot of historical revisionism here that seeks to post the blame on Pakistan and the PCB. Already one Indian has mentioned India refused to tour Pakistan for security reasons, but when Pakistan didn't send its players its because they were trying to play a game.

The heightened tensions and the fanning of flames by right wingers in India presented a unqiue security situation and risk to Pakistani players. Remember the history here, Pakistani teams and players had been targeted by right wing Hindu nationalists many times in the past. Pitches have been damaged when Pakistan was due to play, crowds have invaded the ground during the matches requiring them to be played behind closed doors, mobs have demanded that Pakistan can't play in certain cities and burnt flags. Until the terrorist attacks against the Sri Lankans these incidents were unprecedented in Sports History yet they are brushed under the carpet by Indians and to their credit Pakistanis who chose not highlight them too much at the time.

Sure the Pakistani players may have been handled under presidential type security but its hard enough doing that for one team in one city, logistically it would have been impossible to put every team under lockdown to protect the 1-2 Pakistanis in each team from a high likelihood of attack.

In fact, the Indian government subsequently acknowledged the fragility of the security situation by moving the league to South Africa. If they couldn't protect their own players in India at that time do you really think Pakistanis would have been safe.

Pakistan's stance on India has been 100% consistent. India is the one constantly chopping and changing its logic.

No amount of attempted historical revisionism will change these facts.

What a denial post that has no logic ? The fact is Pak couldn't provide security to SRL team but wanted INDIA to tour them anyway. Also as if Ijaz Butt has nothing to do with banning PAK player's participation in IPL. This is the reason PCB and PAK cricket never improve and grow as they dont accept their shortcomings off the field and on the field respectively.

 

[kumjsr]

You will see a lot of historical revisionism here that seeks to post the blame on Pakistan and the PCB. Already one Indian has mentioned India refused to tour Pakistan for security reasons, but when Pakistan didn't send its players its because they were trying to play a game.

The heightened tensions and the fanning of flames by right wingers in India presented a unqiue security situation and risk to Pakistani players. Remember the history here, Pakistani teams and players had been targeted by right wing Hindu nationalists many times in the past. Pitches have been damaged when Pakistan was due to play, crowds have invaded the ground during the matches requiring them to be played behind closed doors, mobs have demanded that Pakistan can't play in certain cities and burnt flags. Until the terrorist attacks against the Sri Lankans these incidents were unprecedented in Sports History yet they are brushed under the carpet by Indians and to their credit Pakistanis who chose not highlight them too much at the time.

Sure the Pakistani players may have been handled under presidential type security but its hard enough doing that for one team in one city, logistically it would have been impossible to put every team under lockdown to protect the 1-2 Pakistanis in each team from a high likelihood of attack.

In fact, the Indian government subsequently acknowledged the fragility of the security situation by moving the league to South Africa. If they couldn't protect their own players in India at that time do you really think Pakistanis would have been safe.

Pakistan's stance on India has been 100% consistent. India is the one constantly chopping and changing its logic.

No amount of attempted historical revisionism will change these facts.

Let's assume whatever you wrote is correct, did the situation improve drastically from 2009 to 2010 when PCB was ready to send players in IPL?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Bat hit wicket regardless tbh.

Biggest sliding doors was 2007 T20WC Final.

Pakistan already had PSL or original iteration of it in pipeline and ICL stole a match riding on that final success which BCCI eventually absorbed in to the IPL.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Let's assume whatever you wrote is correct, did the situation improve drastically from 2009 to 2010 when PCB was ready to send players in IPL?

Well it improved to the extent that Indians felt comfortable holding the IPL at home in 2010 instead of South Africa.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

What a denial post that has no logic ? The fact is Pak couldn't provide security to SRL team but wanted INDIA to tour them anyway. Also as if Ijaz Butt has nothing to do with banning PAK player's participation in IPL. This is the reason PCB and PAK cricket never improve and grow as they dont accept their shortcomings off the field and on the field respectively.

Sorry but Pakistan's shortcomings are not based on dancing to the tunes of Indians.

 

[Kianig89]

Whatever happened was a good trade off, imagine Pak players playing IPL for huge $$$$ and not valuing PSL or faking injuries to prioritze IPL

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Aijaz Butt’s regime was the most incompetent PCB regime in my lifetime. They had zero diplomacy skills and were very bad at negotiating with other boards. The guy running the board looked as if he belonged in a care home.

 

[Savak]

The then PPP govt ordered the PCB not to allow Pakistani players to play in the IPL at the time. When the order comes from the govt then why blame the PCB?

 

[cricketjoshila]

Well it improved to the extent that Indians felt comfortable holding the IPL at home in 2010 instead of South Africa.

IPL 2009 was held in SA because the UPA government said that they cannot provide adequate forces for security as the general elections were announced. The general elections were announced after Pakistan had already refused to send its players.

PCB refused to send its players on 2nd Feb 2009.

Election schedule declared on 2nd March 2009.

BCCI announced shifting of IPL outside of India on 22nd March.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

IPL 2009 was held in SA because the UPA government said that they cannot provide adequate forces for security as the general elections were announced. The general elections were announced after Pakistan had already refused to send its players.

PCB refused to send its players on 2nd Feb 2009.

Election schedule declared on 2nd March 2009.

BCCI announced shifting of IPL outside of India on 22nd March.

Shiv Sena already threatened the Pakistanis before the decision to pull out. Given they have successfully attempted to terrorise Pakistan in the past and got away unscathed then the threat was very credible.

Also this is the statement of Lalit Modi in February

"The problem we have is the dates for national election haven't been announced yet. It's become extremely difficult. For example, if there's a game scheduled in Delhi and there is counting or polling on that day, then we necessarily can't have a match on that day.
"This has a big impact on us because we can't hold ticket sales, we can't block anything, in terms of logistics: hotels, rooms and, airlines. We have a tentative schedule, and we're going by that schedule, and taking enough precautions to ensure we are able to overcome."

It would have been impossible to provide security to Pakistanis in such a hostile and chaotic environment.

Ultimately the Indian government also acknowledged their lack of security infrastructure by moving the tournament abroad - vindicating the Pakistani stance.

Infact the IPL franchises are to this day scared of disruption from violent entities in India that they do not even consider Pakistanis playing for franchises abroad. - ....."Then comes the backlash in India. I don’t think any Indian fans will be happy if Pakistani players play for us," a franchise official with teams in both the UAE and South African leagues told the news portal.

 

[Major]

There were a series of events that took place that led to PCB not issuing the NOC to our players, alot of lame game going on in this thread, but you need to know the events that took place till 2009 ipl and during the 2010 ipl to get a much clearer picture.

Now remember one thing, a player has to first get NOC than he can be added in the provisional list of IPL after which teams can make bid. When 2009 draft was taking place, IPL was scheduled to take place in India in April.

The events that took place:

November 26th 2008: Mumbai attacks took place.
December 18th 2008: India decides to cancel its tour to Pakistan, there sports minster made this announcement.

Pakistan decided to fill this gap and sent invitation to Sri Lanka.

December 22nd 2008: There are rumors and talks about whether it would be safe for Pakistani payers to go to IPL?

December 27 2008: Tensions rise on both sides, India gives warning to Indian nationals that it was unsafe to travel to Pakistan. (oddly enough the attacks took place in Mumbai, how did Pakistan become unsafe all of a sudden)

January 6th 2009: Indian PM, Manmohan Singh accused Pakistan of supporting Mumbai terror attacks

February 2nd 2009: Everyone was about to give permission to Pakistani team to travel, but the final decision had to come from the Foreign ministry. The Foreign ministry decided agianst it as they identified that it was not gonna be safe for Pakistani players to go to India as Mumbai attacks blame was being placed on Pakistan and retaliation and security could be an issue.


It is to note here that the franchise had no issue and wanted the players in IPL, and there was dicussion that if Indian govt didnt allow them to play, the franchise would compensate the players.

February 6th 2009: Ipl auctions take place with the changes in the player list.

March 3rd 2009: During the day when Indian team was suppose to be playing in Pakistan but cancelled and Pakistan called Sri Lanka over for a tour, an attack takes place. This attack would lead to Pakistan cricket being banned.

Interesting to note, the Pakistani team bus used to leave before, and the other team would follow. On this day, the Pakistani team bus got late and the Sri Lankan team was accidentally attacked as the real targets were the Pakistani bus.

March 24th 2009: Ipl is moved to South Africa

April 18th 2009: IPL's first match in South Africa takes place.
_______________________
An year goes by
_______________________

January 6th 2010: Pakistani players are part of the IPL list of players. Now this is to remember again that franchises wanted Pakistani players in ipl.

January 18th 2010: Pakistani players are snubbed.....

January 25th 2010: SRK was the only one to voice his disappointment on this and even said that him and Ganguly were looking to get Abdul Razzaq to KKR.


My final analysis:

No one knew that IPL 2009 was gonna be sifted, thus, when it was to be played in India, Pakistan had a valid issue that the players security was at risk. Tensions were high. PCB's Ijaz Butt didnt cancel anything, the decision came from the foreign ministry.

By mid 2009, tensions between both countries were so high that there were soldiers on the borders of each side.

Anyways, India asked its franchise not to pick Pakistani players in the third ipl, ever since than it has been a political issue which started from the Mumbai attacks.

Now whether Pakistani players would had been picked or not is speculative... But than again, whether India was involved on the 2009 Sri Lanka attacks is again speculative.... Pakistan had a valid reason to pull out.

Ever since than, India has discriminated against Pakistanis.

 

[kumjsr]

Ever since than, India has discriminated against Pakistanis.

Sentiments towards Pakistan hasn't changed much since 2008 or at least haven't become better.

It's safer for Pakistan to stay away from Indian system as much as possible.

 

[Major]

Sentiments towards Pakistan hasn't changed much since 2008 or at least haven't become better.

It's safer for Pakistan to stay away from Indian system as much as possible.

Indians have been targetted in Australia. Yet i dont see indians saying they shouldnt go to australia as its safer to stay away from foreign lands for them.

A very pathetic attempt to justify discrimination.

I dont know if you live in a foreing country, but if you did and were discriminated at the workplace because of you belonging from a specefic country, would you adopt what you have written here?

 

[asfandyar]

For the same reason they won't go to India for world cup 2023. The country is unsafe for Pakistani cricketers.

 

[Hitman]

For the same reason they won't go to India for world cup 2023. The country is unsafe for Pakistani cricketers.

Who is to lose from that, Pak cricket or the rest of the teams? And how is India unsafe for Pakistani cricketers? Has any untoward incident happened to any team in the past while touring India?

 

[Usman Chadda]

Indian fans blaming PCB will do well to realize the directive to not allow the players to go was done by the government, it was very common knowledge back then.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Indians have been targetted in Australia. Yet i dont see indians saying they shouldnt go to australia as its safer to stay away from foreign lands for them.

A very pathetic attempt to justify discrimination.

I dont know if you live in a foreing country, but if you did and were discriminated at the workplace because of you belonging from a specefic country, would you adopt what you have written here?

BCCI/IPL does not owe Pakistan cricket anything. Discrimination at the workplace for your county of origin is wrong. Pakistani cricketers are not employrd here in the first place so theres no discrimination. They are not entitled to employment here either

 

[cricketjoshila]

For the same reason they won't go to India for world cup 2023. The country is unsafe for Pakistani cricketers.

Hopefully PCB sticks to this.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Shiv Sena already threatened the Pakistanis before the decision to pull out. Given they have successfully attempted to terrorise Pakistan in the past and got away unscathed then the threat was very credible.

Also this is the statement of Lalit Modi in February

"The problem we have is the dates for national election haven't been announced yet. It's become extremely difficult. For example, if there's a game scheduled in Delhi and there is counting or polling on that day, then we necessarily can't have a match on that day.
"This has a big impact on us because we can't hold ticket sales, we can't block anything, in terms of logistics: hotels, rooms and, airlines. We have a tentative schedule, and we're going by that schedule, and taking enough precautions to ensure we are able to overcome."

It would have been impossible to provide security to Pakistanis in such a hostile and chaotic environment.

Ultimately the Indian government also acknowledged their lack of security infrastructure by moving the tournament abroad - vindicating the Pakistani stance.

Infact the IPL franchises are to this day scared of disruption from violent entities in India that they do not even consider Pakistanis playing for franchises abroad. - ....."Then comes the backlash in India. I don’t think any Indian fans will be happy if Pakistani players play for us," a franchise official with teams in both the UAE and South African leagues told the news portal.

Did Shiv Sena not exist before 2009? Why did Pakistan tour in 1999 or 2007? Shiv Sena ceased to exist?


Did IPL say in February 2009 that they cannot provide security to players? Pakistanis get no extra security, all teams and players get the same security.


The Indian government said it after the dates of elections were announced in March. A month after Pakistanis pulled out.


Why will any Indian brand associate themselves with Pakistanis? Tommorow that player will likely say something about Kashmir or Indian government or Hindus. Why will anyone risk this negative publicity?

 

[Rajdeep]

Why beat a dead horse? Its been 14 years, move on

 

[kumjsr]

Indians have been targetted in Australia. Yet i dont see indians saying they shouldnt go to australia as its safer to stay away from foreign lands for them.

A very pathetic attempt to justify discrimination.

I dont know if you live in a foreing country, but if you did and were discriminated at the workplace because of you belonging from a specefic country, would you adopt what you have written here?

Were Pakistanis employed in India in 2009?

If they were employed in India and they were discriminated at their workplace because of their origin, they are free to reach Indian courts for justice.

Any reason why they didn't reach Indian courts in this case?

 

[asfandyar]

Hopefully PCT can achieve and maintain number one ranking before boycotting the world cup in India.

 

[Arabian_Tiger]

Were Pakistanis employed in India in 2009?

If they were employed in India and they were discriminated at their workplace because of their origin, they are free to reach Indian courts for justice.

Any reason why they didn't reach Indian courts in this case?

[MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] reminds me of Shehrayar "HONOUR THE MOU " Khan.
"Pakistani players have been discriminated" has become his punch line.

 

[chakdeindian]

Wow..PCB boycotting IPL and now all leagues across world owned by Indians boycotting the Pak players..what a turn of events..

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

You will see a lot of historical revisionism here that seeks to post the blame on Pakistan and the PCB. Already one Indian has mentioned India refused to tour Pakistan for security reasons, but when Pakistan didn't send its players its because they were trying to play a game.

The heightened tensions and the fanning of flames by right wingers in India presented a unqiue security situation and risk to Pakistani players. Remember the history here, Pakistani teams and players had been targeted by right wing Hindu nationalists many times in the past. Pitches have been damaged when Pakistan was due to play, crowds have invaded the ground during the matches requiring them to be played behind closed doors, mobs have demanded that Pakistan can't play in certain cities and burnt flags. Until the terrorist attacks against the Sri Lankans these incidents were unprecedented in Sports History yet they are brushed under the carpet by Indians and to their credit Pakistanis who chose not highlight them too much at the time.

Sure the Pakistani players may have been handled under presidential type security but its hard enough doing that for one team in one city, logistically it would have been impossible to put every team under lockdown to protect the 1-2 Pakistanis in each team from a high likelihood of attack.

In fact, the Indian government subsequently acknowledged the fragility of the security situation by moving the league to South Africa. If they couldn't protect their own players in India at that time do you really think Pakistanis would have been safe.

Pakistan's stance on India has been 100% consistent. India is the one constantly chopping and changing its logic.

No amount of attempted historical revisionism will change these facts.

Since when has Pakistan stance on India been consistent except calling India a "dushman mulk".
Pakistan had been boycotting India in the 80s and 90s when it had the upper hand, In 2009 it overplayed its hand and now for the last 15 years begging and blaming BCCI for cricket matches. Your Chairman didnt even attend the Champions Trophy it hosted just because India was in the final.
Consistency ya hypocrisy???

 

[Sachin fan]

Why beat a dead horse? Its been 14 years, move on

Because many youngsters still don't know the actual history and believe indian goverment or BCCI has some sort of ban on pakistani players in IPL.

Truth needs to be discussed.

 

[Hitman]

Hopefully PCT can achieve and maintain number one ranking before boycotting the world cup in India.

Loss for both of us. You didn't boycott the World Cup, while we didn't win it.

 

[Devadwal]

Biggest ever regret in Pakistan cricket history .I know Pakistan fan's are not going to agre accept it but truth will remain the truth

 

[mominsaigol]

I'm not a fan of the T20 format, and certainly not of league cricket.

Having said that, I've read a lot of posts from respected posters here over the years regarding the issue. Pak players were welcomed with open arms in the first edition of the IPL. They would have received the same welcome the second time, but unfortunately the PCB didn't allow them to participate in the second edition of the IPL

Was it because of the Mumbai attacks? Or was it because India refused to tour Pakistan in early 2009?

What was the real issue?

This is the biggest difference between Pakistan and Australia.

Australia takes in all the advantages that USA offers towards them such as E3 work visa, extremly generous sponsorship, extremely generous business trading etc etc. Which explains why Australia is so absurdly powerful since the world's most powerful country is their sugar daddy.

India at one point was offering the exact same thing to Pakistan, aka peaceful relations between the 2 countries which meant

A) Easy access to Pakistani citizens
B) Friendly trade
C) Good sporting events between the 2 countries
D) Easy border access

At one point my Mamoo wanted to study Medicine in India since he was poor and India was offering him extremly cheap education but the same standard quality that you would find in most international medical schools.

And he got admission. This was about 30 years ago back when the concept of emails had just started aka Hotmail.

Thankfully USA offered him full scholarship so he went their, but how times have changed.

Even if The mumbai attacks weren't PCB's fault, what was the reason to show such anger towards India? They were offering a 2nd edition IPL towards them, why show this much hostility?

This is the biggest issue with travelling to Pakistan or allowing Pakistani players and Pakistani citizens to play and watch IPL.

Bcci would have to pay millions for extra security and bring an entire armada in case some crazy nutcase decides to bomb someone else again.

Although I am Pakistani, I am a historian as well and can understand India's woes. It's not easy.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

You will see a lot of historical revisionism here that seeks to post the blame on Pakistan and the PCB. Already one Indian has mentioned India refused to tour Pakistan for security reasons, but when Pakistan didn't send its players its because they were trying to play a game.

The heightened tensions and the fanning of flames by right wingers in India presented a unqiue security situation and risk to Pakistani players. Remember the history here,…….

No amount of attempted historical revisionism will change these facts.

Yes no amount of historical revisionism will change the facts. Of which an incontrovertible, decisive and never to be forgotten fact is the cowardly, maniacal attack launched by hate filled Pakistani Islamist actors, abetted by the state, in 2008.

The massacre in Mumbai - I repeat an act of extreme cowardice - will not be forgotten until a few more generations have passed.

THAT was the historical fact which led to everything else in the cricket and elsewhere, which took our already questionable relations to a nadir from which there has been no return.