The Indian Premier League auctions hammer has come down hard on Pakistan cricket. Like a jilted lover,the cricket fan here is heart-broken,confused and angry. The question he asks is how could the Twenty20 world champions not have a buyer? The IPL has a huge presence here in Pakistan. The countrys only sports channel beams the games live and has successfully replicated the magic of the event that enraptures audiences in India. Today,however,the mood has changed. The cable operator association has vowed to block the event. The other great Indian import,Hindi cinema,has also come under pressure. The Sports Ministry and Parliament have got the knives out,terming this selection as a snub,and as a great Indian conspiracy to insult the nation and belittle the status of its cricketers. The players seem to be on the same page as the politicians and the media. This is not cricket,they say. All hell has broken loose. While it is quite possible that the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers would have divided India into for and against camps,and invited controversy for the league and the franchises,care should have been taken in easing them out of action. The task could not have been a simpler one,for the league was faced with a doomed if you do and doomed if you do not scenario. Here you are dealing with global stars who have huge egos,and happen to come from a neighbourhood that is always sensitive to your intentions and moves. The best way out of such a volatile situation is to play with a straight bat,take a decision in advance and not when a crescendo has built up. That the players were given assurances of selection and issued cricket visas created false hopes in the minds of the fans and the media. The process of elimination has been seen by the public here as political and undignified and that has got them hopping mad. However,another school of thought here in Pakistan is taking a different view of this and is,in fact,fuming at the players for showing keeness,almost to the point of begging,to auction themselves for sale,knowing fully well the temperature against Pakistan in India.The greed of the event may also have contributed towards this desperate state of mind to get into it at any cost. If they think now that their dignity has been compromised,then they have only themselves to blame. India today is a cricket powerhouse,the international policeman of the game and nothing moves without its consent. With status and stardom comes responsibility. It has to think inclusive and should have fiercely fought the case of Pakistan cricketers. This would have produced a healthy debate,and perhaps controversy as well,but it would at least have been graceful and in sync with its image. But the heart of the IPL is still very much India-centric. Almost all decisions are taken keeping in view the Indian interest. Some would argue that it being an Indian league,it is but natural to think Indian first. Do that by all means,but then rulers are remembered and respected for thinking big and not for thinking I. The writer is a former Pakistan captain and the former CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board
