Amid reports of terror threats: Pakistan asks India to provide security to its cricket team

ISLAMABAD: Amid reports of terror threats at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Pakistan has called upon India to provide security to the national team during the ICC World Cup 2023.

The statement came after Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked to comment on visa delays for Pakistani fans and journalists and media reports on terror threats during a weekly press briefing in the federal capital on Thursday.

The Indian government hasn’t granted visas to media persons even though they had applied for it much ahead of the mega tournament.

“The host country should provide protection to our cricket team in the ICC World Cup 2023,” she said, adding it was the responsibility of the Indian government to create a favourable environment.

Baloch stated that they are in touch with Indian authorities and expect that the Indian authorities would immediately grant visas to Pakistani journalists and spectators who wish to watch the Cricket World Cup matches in India.

“The host, India, should not hinder Pakistani fans from watching the World Cup. We have said on several occasions in the past that sports should not be mixed with politics. We hope that India will fulfil its obligations as the host of the World Cup and will not place obstacles for the participation of Pakistani journalists and spectators in the ICC World Cup.

“I would like to underline that the Pakistani cricket team is in India, not for a bilateral cricket series between Pakistan and India. Our team is there to play in the ICC World Cup, and the Pakistani team qualified for that tournament; it has every right to participate in that tournament. That is why our cricket team is in India. We have always said that we do not want to mix politics with sports and we advise other countries to do the same,” the FO spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the Indian authorities have jacked up security preparations and are on high alert amid a terror threat pertaining to Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium.

As reported by the Indian media, authorities have beefed up security protocols with more than 3,000 police personnel deployed in and around the venue — scheduled to host a total of five fixtures, including the opening match, Pakistan-India clash, and the tournament’s final. As part of the strict security measures, spectators will not be allowed to carry anything to the stadium other than their mobile phones, per the reporters.

Furthermore, the road leading to the stadium will remain closed during the matches, a move aimed at minimizing security risks.

The mega event will commence on Thursday with England taking on New Zealand at the very stadium. The ICC World Cup 2023 will take place in India with 10 teams fighting for the elusive title across 10 venues, from October 5 to November 19.

The tournament will be played in a round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.

Meanwhile, a UK publication said “India is hosting the quadrennial Cricket World Cup as by far the dominant power in the world’s second-biggest game by viewership (after football). The sport is increasingly run according to the demands of Indian administrators, whether in India or the dozen-odd other countries where it is a front-rank pursuit. They are backed by the revenues generated by India’s vast, cricket-mad tv audience. The six-week-long cricket World Cup, which will see the world’s ten strongest national sides compete in the one-day format of the game, maybe the richest, most watched and also the most overtly politicised ever held.”

It said: “More than 712m Indians—roughly the number that watched televised cricket in 2018—are expected to tune in, especially if their team does well, as is predicted. Indian companies are vying for their eyeballs, with unicorns such as Upstox, a fintech firm, and Dream11, a gaming one, joining old stagers such as MRF Tyres among the event’s 18 official sponsors. The World Cup will provide a tableau of India’s economic emergence—and the disruption it is bringing to a game sometimes described as Indians’ single shared passion.

“The ICC’s media revenues were in the past split fairly evenly between cricket-playing countries. Between 2024 and 2027 India will pocket 39 percent. How it spends the cash is unclear. Most Indian cricket loot is handed to state-level boards, often run by politicians. Hardly any provide audited accounts.”

The publication said: “Indian cricket bosses dismiss foreign criticism as sour grapes. In fact, the cricket world has accepted the reality of India’s dominance; no one disputes its right to enrich and reshape its game. Yet great power is supposed to bring more responsibility, which India’s bosses seldom display. As an early demonstration of the power India is accruing in many fields, its behaviour in cricket is largely discouraging.”

“If India makes it to the World Cup final there, on November 19th, Mr Modi will no doubt attend. So will his de facto deputy, Amit Shah, another former boss of cricket in Gujarat; and Mr Shah’s son, Jay Shah, who runs India’s cricket board. Cricket under Mr Modi, like so much else, has been centralised and co-opted.

“As well as illustrating Mr Modi’s flair for amassing power, his party’s cricket management reflects its troubling use of it. Indian Muslims are fairly represented in cricket. Around 12% of professional players are Muslims, in line with their share of the population. Yet those who play for India are targeted by the Islamophobic trolls that have multiplied under Mr Modi.

“Pakistan’s cricketers are faring worse. Once superior to India’s (elegant Indian batsmen struggled against fierce Pakistani fast bowling) cricket in Pakistan has deteriorated with the country. India is twisting the knife. The younger Mr Shah, who also runs the Asian Cricket Council, has helped throttle cricket ties between the two countries. Pakistan’s players, in a gratuitous slight, were the last to receive their visas and schedule for the World Cup.

“Such bullying Indian behaviour has been a feature of its rise in cricket, which has intensified under the BJP. The spread of private Indian cricket leagues is eroding the primacy of international competition, one of cricket’s distinctive features, and weakening foreign cricket boards. India’s cricket bosses are deaf to the complaints this is raising. Viewing cricket as an arm of national power, they are mainly intent on increasing their control of it.”